Blast From The Past
by dangerousxmelody
Summary: Sean is back from Wasaga and everyone is happy to see him. Everyone except Emma as far as he can tell she is trying to avoid him. Meanwhile Manny is trying to find a way to make some quick cash to launch her career. Unfortunately it may not be the most re
1. The Return of Sean Cameron

**Chapter 1- The Return of Sean Cameron**

It was about mid-day when Sean Cameron pulled into the parking lot of his old school. He found a parking spot near the very back of the lot and squeezed his huge truck in nearly tapping the little red car next to him. He put it in park and took off his seatbelt but didn't make a move to get out just yet.

He looked at himself in the rearview mirror to see a nervous expression painted on his face. He had changed so much since the last time he had been at Degrassi Community School. His hair hung to his shoulders with a baseball cap on top. His face had turned from boyish and innocent to manly and assertive. His chin bore a small patch of fuzz; probably a spot he had missed while shaving. He wore a striped polo and a pair of jeans with a shiny brown belt.

He sighed and turned away from the mirror, focusing his eyes on the school. It seemed like such a familiar building and yet he knew nothing about it. It had been nearly 2 years since he had stayed behind in Wasaga and he wasn't so sure he was ready to come back. But his parents had told him it was the right decision considering it would provide him with much better education and a better future. But now the school looked intimidating to him and he was almost scared of it, nervous of the reactions he would get from suddenly popping back in out of the blue.

With some regrets he opened the car door and slid out through a narrow space to avoid hitting the car next to him. He slammed the door shut and turned to face his nerves. He began making his way to the front entrance of Degrassi and saw nobody on his way. He passed the basketball court where a basketball lay motionless at the three point line. Feeling lucky, he smiled and walked over to it, picking it up and focusing hard on the basket. 3...2...1...he shot the ball into the air, his wrist making a nice flick at the end. Three seconds later it whooshed through the net with a nice swoosh sound. He had learned quite a bit of things after he moved back to Wasaga.

He kept walking passing by the picnic table where so many people had eaten lunch and gossiped about everyone. He reached the steps where he had fond memories of ignoring Emma and telling Mr. Raditch to go to hell. He had made quite an impact at this school back in his day. He stepped inside the foyer and was surprised to find it completely empty. He must have come during a class period because it was so empty he could hear his foot hitting the floor every time he took a step. He reached the secretary's desk and handed her his note with the reason he was late on it. She nodded and wrote him a pass to Mr. Armstrong's math class.

The locker that was assigned to him was in a main hallway and was in decent condition. He was happy to get something so close to where everyone normally was rather than in some deserted hallway. He opened the locker and swung his backpack inside and then unzipped it and took out a binder, paper, and a pen and pencil. Next he reached up and swiped his hat off his head, stashing it on a hook placed conveniently at the top of the locker. He knew all too well that caps weren't allowed to be worn during school hours. After checking to make sure he had everything he closed his locker, picked up his stuff, and walked on to Mr. Armstrong's class.

He passed by a very familiar hallway, one he had tried to erase completely from his mind. He didn't want to walk down it but it was the only way to get to Mr. Armstrong's class. He took a step in carefully, his eyes widening as his mind ran through a slideshow of flashbacks to the day of the shooting. He remembered it had been Emma, Toby, and him standing in the hallway rummaging in their lockers. Suddenly a few kids came running by frantically as if they were scared of something coming from the other way. Due to their curiosity they all advanced forward into the next hallway to see Rick standing stiffly in the middle of it, a gun held tightly in his hands. Sean tried to move everyone back into the hallway behind them once he noticed the gun but it was too late and he ended up with a gun pointing inches above his shoulder straight at Emma's face. He took a leap of bravery and began wrestling Rick for the gun only to have it surprisingly go off into Rick's stomach. It was the reason Sean had escaped to Wasaga Beach and the reason he was hesitant to return to Degrassi. The haunting memory had left him standing a couple feet into the hallway with a shocked expression resting on his face.

He couldn't bare the site of the spot where it had happened. He could see Rick laying there, the blood forming a mote around his body. He shut his eyes, hoping the image would go away and he would make it past this shadow of fear that seemed to follow him everywhere. He walked through the rest of the hallway as quickly as he could, making sure to keep his eyes tightly shut. He slowed down when he could feel the lockers disappear and the rough style of the wall laid under his sweaty palm. He opened his eyes and looked ahead. He was almost to Mr. Armstrong's classroom but he knew he would look strange walking in there sweaty and wide eyed. He saw a washroom close by and walked inside to wash off his face. When he came back out the period must have been almost over because he could see students lining up at the doors. He hurried to Mr. Armstrong's room to try and catch the last bit of his first lesson.

Mr. Armstrong stood at the front of the class and stared at the students. They were chatting and gossiping amongst each other and probably hadn't taken in or cared for one word he had said to them so far. A pencil flew across the room and hit a student directly on the forehead. His eyes glared in the direction of JT Yorke who saw his face and looked down trying to suppress his laughter. Suddenly someone knocked on the door and Mr. Armstrong dropped his book and made his way towards the door. He opened it and was surprised by the person standing in front of him.

"Sean Cameron. Wow, I'm surprised to see you back at Degrassi. How long have you been here?" He moved aside to let Sean in.

"About 15 minutes." He looked around at the class. Some of the faces he recognized, others were very new to him. As he glanced near the back corner someone special caught his eye. Emma Nelson was sitting there with her papers in hand but seemed to be frozen with her eyes on him. He smiled and looked back to Mr. Armstrong who had begun talking to him again.

"Well it's good to have you back. I look forward to having you in my class this year." As he said this the bell rang and people began filing out of the doorway to their next class. Sean followed them but as he reached the door he turned back to see Emma still in her seat and looking into space. Manny, who had finally got her stuff together, snapped in Emma's face to wake her up from her daydream. She shook her head and looked up at Sean who smiled immediately. She turned her head down to her papers really quickly pretending to completely ignore him. Without trying to catch her eye again he turned and walked out the doorway, a little confused by what had just happened.


	2. Dazed And Confused

**Chapter 2- Dazed and Confused**

Emma sat there quietly thinking to herself the entire next period. Gym had never really required her to actually participate in any of the activities that they always did. So she thought back to what had happened in the classroom and kept going over it in her head. Sean, who has been gone for nearly two years now, had waltzed into class just as the bell was about to ring. He looked really happy to be back and after looking around the room his eyes had rested on her. She hadn't even thought to return a glance because she was in such shock that he would pop up out of the blue like that. Eventually she pretended to ignore his stare, it all seemed too much to handle and she didn't want him to know that she even cared he had returned.

Manny, who had decided to take a break from screaming every time a basketball was passed to her, walked over to Emma and sat down next to her on the bleachers, knowing something was up. She hadn't expected Sean to return either but she hadn't been as shocked as Emma was when he walked into Mr. Armstrong's room. Emma and Sean had such a past that it was impossible for them not to still care about each other.

"Emma what's wrong? Is this all because of Sean? I mean, you've been spaced out since last period when he showed up."

"I just never thought he would...you know...come back. I thought he was going to be in Wasaga forever and I learned to get over it and get over him. And now, he's back at Degrassi and I'm stuck with no idea what to do or where to go from here. This is so not fair for me, I mean I love Peter and that's it. That's all that should matter, right?" Emma said softly to Manny as she rested her head on her fist. She watched the other girl's dribble the ball back and forth across the court and sometimes watched it bounce through the net.

"To be honest Em, you don't even sound sure when you say you love Peter. I think you need to rethink your feelings for him because this is completely fair. I think you were just too afraid to face it and now you're scared because it's actually happening." Manny grabbed Emma's hand and held on to it tightly. "But whatever happens, through this entire thing, I'm here for you ok?"

"Thanks Manny, I can always trust you." Emma turned and gave Manny a long hug, feeling relieved that Manny would help her out with this one because she had no idea what to do. Manny smiled and after having her name called out returned to the game. Emma sat there for the rest of the period, thinking over what she really wanted and how she was feeling. She did love Peter, at least she always thought she had. He seemed like the perfect guy now, he was always there providing support and he was a great kisser. But Sean's return had completely scrambled her brain and now she had no idea what to think of either of them.

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Emma walked home that day still wondering how to find the answer to the same question. She hadn't seen Peter all day and she had managed to avoid Sean the rest of her time at school but she had a feeling she needed to talk with both of them to clear up these strange feelings she was having. She reached her house and walked inside a little dazed and, ignoring her mother's questions about her first day, proceeded straight to her room in the basement. She threw her backpack down at the side of the bed and fell into the soft, cushy comforter. She buried her face in her pillow and sighed. It had been a really long day and a nice nap sounded great.

"Honey what's wrong? Was it that bad?" Her mom had followed her downstairs probably concerned why she hadn't spoken a word. Emma slowly turned over and adjusted her head on the pillow.

"Actually it was great. I got to meet up with all my friends I hadn't seen over the summer and it was a lot of fun. Until Mr. Armstrong's class everything was great." She put her hands on her head and sighed again. Her head started to hurt from over thinking the question still stuck in it.

"Well, what happened in Mr. Armstrong's class? Did you get a pop quiz or...have a fight with Manny or...?" Her mom looked really interested in hearing what had happened. _Why did parents care so much to hear what was going on in their children's lives?_ Emma thought to herself. It was a complete wreck every time they asked and it wasn't exactly like opening up to a friend.

"No I didn't get a pop quiz or have a fight with Manny. I wish it was something that simple, it would make my life ten times easier then it is right now. Well...at the end of the class period, when the bell was about to ring...Sean Cameron walked in. He came home from Wasaga today and I'm just really confused and tired. I think I'm going to take a nap if that's ok." Emma looked up at her then wrapped herself under the covers and turned the other way.

"Oh, wow I never thought he would come back to Toronto...well tell me if you need anything and dinner will be waiting in the microwave in case you're hungry later." Emma heard her footsteps disappear up the stairs and the basement door close behind them. She looked at the blank wall next to her bed and wondered when Manny would be getting home; she really wanted to talk to her more about this. As she closed her eyes the conversation she had with Manny earlier in the day came into her head and the question came up again. Did she really love Peter? She had no idea what the answer to this question was or why she cared so much that Sean returned. Maybe it's true that you never really get over your first true love.


	3. Reunion in the Ravine

**Chapter 3- Reunion in the Ravine**

Sean stepped out of Degrassi Community School that day looking for one and only one person. He needed a place to stay and he certainly couldn't ask any of his old friends considering most of them didn't even go to the school anymore. There wasn't a definite place for him to be, since he was sort of a drifter with no real home or rather he never stayed at his real home. There was a place he normally hung out at, and Sean decided he would check there first knowing it may be the end of his search. 

He walked to his right towards a foresty area everyone knew as the ravine. As he made his way through the thick branches and leaves he finally found a small path that led a little ways in. Soon enough he found himself in a huge clearing that was close to a deserted road. He had found the place and seeing it again after four years brought back some memories of him and Jay before he had left. They used to party here all the time with beer and women. Sean remembered the many times he had gone into the van with a young, hot blonde and had come out more than satisfied. He looked around and saw no sign of Jay but caught sight of the van that was so legendary. It wasn't rocking as you usually saw it probably because it wasn't late into the night yet.

He approached the van and heard grunting noises coming from inside. He knew he shouldn't barge in because it was against the rules of the ravine and pretty much rude to jump in on a guy when he's in the middle of it but this was pretty important. So Sean slowly put his hand and the handle and pushed in the release button. He heard the door click open and with one pull he threw it back. Inside was something he really wasn't expecting. Jay sat there under the blankets with a shocked expression on his face, his clothes in a pile next to a TV that was playing a raunchy video. Jay screamed for Sean to shut the door and grabbed his clothes covering himself up. Sean, scarred enough as it was, slammed the door and backed away, taking a seat on a picnic table and waiting for Jay to come out hopefully fully clothed and cleaned up.

He put his head in his hands and thought about his day, especially about Emma. Why did she pretend not to see him? It was almost like she didn't even care that he was back, like he might as well be dead for all she cared. He had left pretty suddenly but Emma shouldn't be the one with severe anger towards him, Ellie was the person he was really scared to talk to. He hated apologizing for things because it meant admitting that he had done something wrong. He wondered where Ellie was now, probably at some big newspaper company writing the lead stories and telling the world how it is. That was always her dream, at least it was the last time he had seen her. He heard the van door open and lifted his head to see Jay fully clothed and a little surprised. As he came closer, Sean could see a sly smile forming on Jay's face.

"Sean Cameron. _The_ Sean Cameron, back at Degrassi? When did you get here man." Jay grasped his hand and pulled him into a brotherly hug. Sean and he had always been close before Sean had stayed back in Wasaga. He wasn't so sure Sean was still the same man; he wore a preppy outfit and had grown his hair out. It was almost hard to recognize him.

"Yep, it's the one and only me. Dude, since when is the van for hooking up with yourself?" Sean laughed and wiped his hands off on his jean, half kidding and half seriously disgusted. He was not expecting to reunite with Jay in such a disturbing way but at least he had reunited; now he could finally ask him a huge favor.

"Haha shut up man, you know how it is. It's the first day of school; there haven't been huge parties in a while. I needed something to tide me over until tonight. It's going to be a huge party man, you should tag along and maybe even get some like you did way back when." He smiled and sat down on the table looking around at the forest surrounding them.

"Yeah...maybe. But that's not why I'm here. I really need a favor from you. I was just wondering if you had some extra space in your apartment, I need a place to stay now that I'm back in town and I don't think I can go back to that old dump me and Ellie used to live in. I doubt she still lives there anyways," he said, a little sad at the thought of not having everything perfect and exactly how he had left it. He knew it wouldn't be, but deep down a part of him was hoping that he was wrong.

"Uh, sure man. I mean I hardly go there anymore, I'm more of a street roamer now...spend most of my time here so I don't know if it's still even running but I'm sure I could get some extra cash, or we could, and get it back up again. We always did want to open up that repair and parts shop so now that your back we can maybe put that idea back into action. It would earn us a lot of cash." He reached into a cooler that Sean hadn't noticed and pulled out two beers, handing one to Sean and opening the other for himself. He took a sip and looked up at the sky.

"Man, that would be awesome and you know I'm with you completely but are you sure we have the money for something like that. I mean when I left Wasaga my parents didn't exactly hand me their small fortune. They gave me a car and some gas money and sent me on my way." He followed Jay's glance up into the sky and saw a flock of birds flying. He admired them because they knew exactly where they were going and how they were going to get there. They didn't have to worry about things like money and saying sorry.

"Well, there is our old business. I can bust into Degrassi and..."

"Look, I'm not that same guy. I've changed since Wasaga and I'm not going back into stealing and stupid shit like that, it'll only make things worse. If we're going to do this, it's got to be clean or I'm not doing it at all." Sean's face had turned serious now and he looked sincere. He really had changed a lot and he had to thank his mom and dad for that. They really kept him in line and matured him and he was grateful for it.

"Alright, alright, no need to throw a hissy fit Cameron. You'll get your precious squeaky clean way. I'm just surprised; you would normally be the first to jump on that opportunity. Wasaga really did change you huh?" Jay with a strange and unique look on his face stared into Sean's face. It was like he was seeing someone completely different. It wasn't his old friend, it was one of those kids he used to despise and make fun of. But he didn't want to make fun of Sean; Sean was one of his best friends. He actually felt like Sean's attitude was improving his. It was almost like Sean was starting to rub off on him. 

"Yeah, it really did." Sean smiled and got up off of the bench leading the way to Jay's apartment. "Let's get out of here and see if that apartment is still going. I'm actually pretty wiped from today." Jay sighed, took a long sip of beer, and got up to follow Sean. He punched him playfully and ruffled his hair with his hands. It was a re-bonding of old friends with new motives.


	4. Surprise, Surprise

**Chapter 4- Surprise, Surprise!**

As Sean and Jay approached an apartment complex from behind, they passed a set of dumpsters and a nasty stench drifted into their noses. Sean cringed and looked over at Jay to see what his reaction was. Jay's face was calm and it seemed like he hadn't even caught the scent.

"Do you smell that? What the hell died?" Sean wrinkled his nose as they passed the last dumpster and the smell got worse. It was the strangest scent he had ever smelled and knowing the area they were in he really didn't want to find out what it was.

They kept walking and soon turned a corner onto a busy main street where cars were lined up at a red light. Sean looked to his right and caught his first glimpse of the ratty apartments. They were torn down, beat up, and some of them were even rotting. He sighed at the fact that he had asked Jay of all people. He should have known it would be a nasty living but he was still somehow disappointed. He guessed he had hoped that he could actually rely on Jay to surprise him for once but it looked like it wasn't going to happen.

They reached the end of the street and Sean made his way to the right towards the apartment complex entrance. He had gotten halfway there before he felt a hand grab his arm and spin him around. He was so surprised by this he was almost knocked down.

"Cameron, you don't honestly think I'd live in that crap, do you? I got two words for you, hell no. We're almost there though; they're just up here past this next light." He laughed and turned around walking towards the light again. Sean found his balance and walked behind Jay feeling a little embarrassed for automatically thinking Jay lived in the crappy apartments. It just wasn't Jay to live in nice ones though considering he hadn't exactly been rich when it came to money.

They walked past the next two lights and a little further up from the second light Sean could finally make out an apartment complex. His jaw dropped in amazement as he saw how nice they were. Each was made out of a mixture of dark and light red brick and windows with black shutters on each side. The trees were trimmed so they looked older but nicely kept. He could just see a huge pool filled with people in the middle of all the apartments. He leaned on the fence and pressed his face in between the bars looking at every little detail.

"Yo Cameron. You gonna sit there all day or can we go inside and see the apartment? I'm really hungry and I think there's still some food in the fridge." Sean backed up onto the sidewalk and turned to Jay wondering how he could possibly be living at a place like this? Where could he have gotten the money to pay rent? Was he back to his old tricks of stealing things? Maybe the apartment wasn't even his. With all this on his mind he followed Jay to the front gate. Jay typed in a little code and the gate slowly swung forward. They walked through it and on to Jay's apartment which was somewhere near the pool. Jay walked into a little cave in the wall and ran up the steps to the second story. Sean didn't know where he had gone at first and looked around confused. He then heard Jay's voice from the balcony above and finally found the little cave in with the stairs. He ran up the stairs and stepped off the last step onto the second floor.

There were only two apartments on this particular floor and Jay had gone to the right one. As Jay fumbled in his pockets for the keys, Sean stepped to the balcony's edge and leaned on the metal railing, looking over the pool. It was a huge pool and there were a bunch of people out today, especially little kids and their parents. There was one end of the pool that was splashing and wild and crazy where the little kids were attacking and dunking each other. Then there was the other, deeper end where teens and adults were doing laps, diving, or just swimming around. A couple of girls were lying in lawn chairs sunbathing in bikinis. Sean smiled at this and took a look up and down as any guy would. He heard the door behind him open and turned around to see Jay motioning him to come on.

Sean entered the apartment and was once again surprised. It was spacious and wide open, with a living room when you first walked in and a rather large kitchen built to the right. There was a hallway past the living room on the left that led to three doorways. He kicked off his shoes and slammed his body onto the couch and his head into a pillow. He lifted his head up and looked to the wall in front of the couch. There was a huge plasma screen TV on the wall that was just calling out for Sean to turn on.

"Ok, what happened to the poor rebel that used to hang out with me? I know he didn't live this nice, what did you win the lottery or something?" He laughed as Jay locked the door and kicked off his shoes. Jay walked past the couch and sat down in a lounge chair, swinging his feet up to rest on the ottoman.

"Actually my dad did. Just before summer he came to me with the keys to this place and told me he was moving to somewhere in Europe so he could experience the world or whatever. He left me a huge cash load in this bank account and I've been getting stuff with it ever since. I only get the chance to come here once a week because I'm so...busy in the ravine." He winked at Sean and laughed. The truth was it reminded him of his dad that never really took the time out of his busy day to even pay attention to Jay. It had been a long time ago though and Jay had learned to take care of himself without getting things from his parents. And then all of the sudden he's given an apartment because his dad had some extra cash to throw around. It was pretty hurtful to Jay although he never showed it.

"Man, if I had picked one person to become rich before I had left, lottery or whatever, it would not have been you." Sean told him and reached under his back to grab something that kept poking him. He pulled out the remote and switched the TV on. He looked at all the other buttons and couldn't understand how to work it. He threw the remote onto Jay's lap. "I never had anything that fancy." He laughed and got off of the couch. "So where exactly am I sleeping?"

"Here I'll show you." Jay turned the TV off and threw the remote down on the chair as he got up. He walked past Sean and down the hallway to the left of the living room. He opened the third door and led Sean into the bedroom. There was a huge bed with a large cushy comforter on top and fluffed pillows at the headboard. A nice wooden dresser sat at the front of the room with a smaller plasma screen TV above that on the wall. There was a huge empty space on the other side with enough room for another king size bed. Sean looked around the room and felt relieved that he had asked Jay for a place to stay. He hadn't even come close to expecting something so awesome as this apartment.

"Wow...this is really nice man, thanks for letting me stay here." Sean looked at the dresser and realized he had left his truck at Degrassi. He didn't want it to be the only truck in the parking lot plus he needed some stuff to change into. "Hey, do you think you could give me a lift to Degrassi, I forgot my truck there?" He walked out of the room and towards the door.

"Sure, but we have to hurry. The party starts soon and we have to walk." Jay said as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed his car keys off the counter. He walked to the door and slid his shoes on. Sean had already unlocked the door and was outside on his way down the stairs. As Sean reached the bottom he ran into someone that he was not expecting to see. She was in a beach dress and was holding a drink in one hand. She had dyed her hair light brown and looked as if she had even lost a little weight. Her eyes weren't black as he had seen them the last time and she wasn't wearing the hardcore look anymore.

"Ellie...what are you doing here?" Sean gulped as he knew he was about to face the conversation he had been dreading the entire time back.


	5. Slam

**Chapter 5- Slam**

Sean watched as Ellie's face turned from a happy, confused person to a shocked and angry one. She looked as if she could kill him on the spot if she had a weapon with her. He didn't really blame her considering they didn't exactly agree when Sean had said goodbye back in Wasaga two years ago. He wasn't sure what to say next so he waited for her to say something. She looked like she was stumbling on the fact that their reunion was so sudden and unexpected. After a few moments her expression straightened up and she smiled.

"Sean Cameron. I should ask you the same question." Ellie flashed her smile so widely it was bound to be fake. She didn't want to show her true feelings, hurt and upset that he felt like he could just return with no notice. He hadn't spoken to anyone in Toronto for nearly two years and now he wanted to chat with her.

"Yeah well you should be asking a lot more from me after what I did to you. I'm sorry...for leaving you like that. It was a really rough time for me and I didn't really know what to do...or where to go." Sean could feel his emotions beginning to slip out of his control and tried to hold back the best he could. It was true he had hurt Ellie but he was really sorry for it and he needed her to know that. As he waited for a response Jay came strolling down the steps whistling with a smile on his face. When he caught site of Sean and Ellie he stopped and smiled wider.

"I'll just wait in the car." He said and walked past them to the left. Sean watched him disappear behind a tree and then turned back to Ellie.

"That doesn't answer my question. And did you ever think that maybe you could of stayed in the apartment with me? Yeah, that hole in the wall that you left me with to pay the rent and be lonely in. Sean, you really hurt me when you said you loved me and then said goodbye. That's not exactly redeemable by just saying sorry." She sat down on the steps and sat her bag at her feet.

"I know I hurt you but you have to understand. Most people don't go through what I went through. Most people don't fight with a psycho gunman and then end up shooting him by accident. I blamed myself for killing him and that's what made it so hard to know what to do. It was like everywhere I went I could feel this anger following me. The fact that I blew everyone off because of it didn't help. There wasn't one second back in Wasaga that I didn't second guess myself for staying behind. There wasn't one second that I didn't feel guilty for leaving you." Sean sat down and felt his eyes begin to water up. He didn't want to cry in front of Ellie but maybe it was time he started showing some emotion to her. Maybe it would convince her that he was truly sorry for what he did.

"Well if you really felt that guilty and horrible about it, why didn't you come home? Why did you just sit there for two years? You never called, you never visited. What was I supposed to think?" She said as her voice began to choke up a little bit. It sounded as if she was on the verge of tears and it really hurt Sean to see her like this. He hadn't ever meant to hurt anyone but he did.

"I know...I should of called or done something to talk to you...I just left you there wondering what happened to me and I'm so sorry for that. And right now I wish I could take it all back and I wish I would have come back with you but I can't change the past. I can only hope that you forgive me for it and that our future is better...I still love you Ellie." Sean said in almost a whisper. He was surprised by his last words because he had not meant to say that out loud. It may be true but she still hated him for leaving, the last thing she needed to hear was that he still loved her.

"Still love me? What the hell is wrong with you? You come back after two years and you want to start our relationship again? I can't believe I almost fell for your little apology, I should have known it was you just trying to get back in. I really did love you when you stayed back in Wasaga but the fact that you left me can never change. It's never going to happen Sean because I'll never know for sure whether you will do that same thing again. I moved on with my life, I met new friends and had new crushes. I really did love you and I wanted it to work out but I won't make that mistake again." She said this rather loudly and people at the pool were beginning to stare at the two wondering why they were having such an angry conversation. Her eyes began to water up in angry tears and she grabbed her bags and shook her head. "Never again." She stood up and stormed up the stairs. A few moments later she was in her apartment and had slammed the door.

Sean sighed at her reaction and regretted mentioning the words at all. He got up off of the steps and looked around at all the gawking faces. He quickly made his way towards the car so he could get out of everyone's eyesight fast. He caught site of the orange civic and walked briskly to the passenger side. He got in and looked straight ahead waiting for Jay to drive.

"What was that about? I think the entire complex heard that last part." Jay looked at Sean sitting there looking sadder and more upset than he had ever seen him. He wasn't really an expert on people and their feelings so he had no idea what to do.

"Look, can you just drive? The party starts soon so we have to hurry." Sean sat back and looked out the window as the car started moving. He could see the apartment where Ellie was staying and wondered what he could possibly do after that. It was officially the end of their relationship as he knew it and he was afraid to even try and speak to her again.

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After about ten minutes they were in the empty parking lot of Degrassi. There were three cars in it besides Sean's truck. Sean was still thinking about his encounter with Ellie when Jay pulled into a spot a little ways over from his truck. Sean unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. He reached the truck and began digging in his pockets for the keys, getting worried when he couldn't find them. He finally found them deep inside his bottom left pocket and pulled them out, making them jingle slightly. He unlocked the car and waved to Jay that he was fine. Jay pulled up beside him and looked the truck up and down smiling.

"Nice truck. Since when can your parents afford this kind of stuff?" It was true, that truck was a lot nicer than anything Sean had ever been given. His parents had worked hard saving up to buy it for him.

"Since they got jobs and started saving up. I'm good now; I'll meet you back at the apartment alright?" Sean said waving for Jay to go on. He stepped up into the driver's seat and stuck the keys in the ignition watching Jay drive off behind him. He shut the door and started the car, adjusting his seat for a little more comfort. He looked in the rearview mirror at his sweaty forehead and his slightly red eyes. He was so embarrassed now that he knew Jay had seen him nearly crying and hadn't even told him. Usually Jay would have been the first to mention it but he had become a little softer when it came to Sean. He must have guessed how hard it would be to face that kind of a situation.

He backed out and pulled the truck to the parking lot's exit looking both ways to the nearly deserted road. Instead of turning right towards the apartment he turned left. He wanted to see how some old friends were doing. He pulled into a neighborhood and drove slowly down the street, looking for one house in particular. He finally found it and as he pulled up he saw Manny walking on the sidewalk in front of the house. He rolled down his window and waited for her to see him. She turned her head almost immediately and smiled at him.

"Hey...wow I can't believe your actually back." She smiled at him and walked up to the driver's window to lean against it. She hadn't spoken to Sean much when he was still around and that was nearly two years ago. She looked around at the truck and was really surprised by how nice it was, how could Sean Cameron afford something like this?

"Yeah I know, I can't either. I have been planning to for a while but I just couldn't find a time that would be right...you know? I didn't want to come back during the summer or the middle of the year and make some big scene about it. So what have you been up to?" Sean smiled at her noticing her rather revealing outfit. The last time he had seen her she had started looking like less of a slut but maybe she was beginning her old ways again. She looked really hot in the outfit though and it made even himself wonder what if he had asked Manny out.

"Oh nothing, it's so boring around here." She noticed him glance at her outfit and came closer to the car to cover up the bottom portion of her body. It made her feel insecure when people checked her out. "Wow, this is a really nice truck. When did you get this and...how?" She laughed hoping that he wouldn't think she was trying to single him out for being a poor kid. She looked at his eyes and wondered why they were so red. It looked almost like he had been crying, but Sean Cameron wasn't exactly the person to go and cry no matter how hard the situation was.

Sean laughed at her comment and question on the truck knowing she was referring to the fact that he was poor. He didn't blame her; if he was her he would have automatically assumed he had stolen it. "Thanks, it is really nice, probably the nicest thing I have ever owned. My parents started working and saved up for a while to get this for me. It was a special going away present I guess you could say and they surprised me with it yesterday." He noticed that she had scooted closer to the car and wondered if she was maybe trying to hint something to him.

"That's nice...well I should get going, I have some first day homework to finish. I'll talk to you later though." She said and smiled as she turned around and began to walk up the pathway leading to the front door. As she stepped forward her heel got caught in a crater between the concrete and grass and she fell into the grass hard her skirt flying up. She felt some pain in her knee and could feel her eyes starting to water up. She was such a baby sometimes.

Sean seeing this rushed out of the car to help Manny. As he came up on her lying in the grass he caught a glimpse of her thong before she could pat her skirt down. He felt a little wrong perving on her like that but how could he not look. He kneeled down and pushed up on her back helping her to her stand on her wobbly legs. He had one question to ask her before he left and he thought now would be the perfect time. "Whoa, careful. You took that pretty hard. Are you ok?" She nodded and smiled at him. His hand was on her waist and she felt a little uncomfortable with it there. Sean watched as her embarrassment disappeared and her face turned back to a normal fleshy color. "So I was wondering. Today Emma acted like she was avoiding me and I just wanted to know why. I mean I left and all but she acted like she thought it was a good idea."

Manny sighed at the question knowing that she couldn't tell him the truth. That maybe Emma cared more about him than he knew and that maybe she was just too afraid to show it. "I don't know, she did seem sort of spaced out today when you showed up in math but I think saying she's avoiding you is a little much don't you think?" She stumbled again and felt his hand on her waist strengthen as he supported her and helped her stay on her feet. Her stomach fluttered a little bit for some reason as the discomfort it had brought he began to fade.

"Well it's just that she dodged into a bathroom as I was coming around a corner." He led her to the doorway and she grabbed the doorknob. She turned it and looked back at him.

"Maybe she just really had to go or something. Look, I really have to get going. Thanks for helping me out back there and I'll see you tomorrow at school I guess." She smiled at him one last time and then disappeared into the house. Sean sighed but turned and got back in his truck. He took one last glance at the house and then drove back to the apartment.

---

Manny got inside and leaned against the door letting out a huge sigh. She had just lied to Sean and had even felt some sort of happy feeling in her stomach when he touched her. Was it possible for her to like Sean Cameron of all people? It was the worst thought in the world because it meant betraying her best friend. Emma and Manny had fought so many times but this would be the end of them if it happened. She didn't even want to think about Emma's grudge seeing as she had enough stuff to worry about already. What if the Nelsons found out about her job? She was worried that they might soon. She realized she was still in her work clothes and ran quickly into the basement before Spike could even turn away from the dinner she was preparing.

Manny stomped down the stairs and into the closet of the basement looking for some pajamas to put on. She finally found a pair that she hadn't worn yet and decided to try them out. She quickly stripped down and changed into the pajamas, pulling up the bottom part of them as she came out of the closet. She went into the restroom and took of her makeup. She realized how much of a whore she looked like with it on and was simply disgusted by herself. It was the only way for her to make a lot of cash fast though and she really needed the money for her budding movie career.

She had taken off all of her makeup and went back into the main area of the basement. She finally noticed that Emma was passed out on the bed and smiled at her. Emma had had a long day and Manny was happy that she was finally getting some rest. Maybe that would help her think clearly on the decision. She climbed into bed next to Emma and snuggled up under the covers. She looked over at the clock and was surprised by how late it was. Six at night already, it seemed like they had just gotten out of school. But then, hours spent at her job would pass by unnoticed or shunned. As she thought about how horrible it would be if someone discovered her job or if Emma found out about her little Sean butterflies, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later Emma awoke to the sound of Manny snoring. It was the worst sound in the world and could probably wake up someone in a coma. She only did it every few nights so it wasn't like Emma always went without sleep. She looked over at the clock, yawning, and gasped at the time. It was 12 in the morning and she wasn't remotely tired enough to go back to sleep. She swung back the covers and stepped over to the closet. She didn't know why but she had a sudden idea of where to go to make everything feel better. When she went there it made her feel like everything was ok. She changed into some jeans and a t-shirt and walked back out of the closet as quietly as she could. She stepped over to the window and slowly crawled through it trying to not make any noise. She slid out successfully and walked to the front of the house, making her way towards Degrassi.

About five minutes later she was in the now empty parking lot of Degrassi. She walked across the concrete, hearing the pounding of her shoes with every step. She could hear the faint sounds of music and every now and then a scream. It was obvious a party was going on, it was just what Emma was hoping for. She reached the front steps of Degrassi and stopped to stare up at the school. She thought of today and how she had acted so weird when Sean had walked into math class. She just lost it and had gone into some weird dazed mode. It was the weirdest thing she had ever experienced and now she was still lost. She hadn't talked to Peter in a couple of days and she wasn't so sure she wanted to talk to him again. The entire problem was a mess and she just needed to lose control and have fun tonight. She walked past the steps and into a foresty area to the right of Degrassi Community School.

After a few minutes of walking she entered a large opening in the forestry where fire was burning, loud music was playing, and people were screaming and running around, having a good time. She laughed as a girl came by running away from a guy with a cup of cold water in his hands. She walked by a fire, the flames dancing and casting shadows on her face. She could see some people hadn't even made it to the van and were making out and groping each other in the grass. She stepped away from them a little bit and kept walking until she reached a picnic bench. There on the bench was Jay Hogart sitting in his normal spot in the middle. He had probably already hooked up that night or maybe he was waiting for her. They had been going on and off with this thing the entire summer. She had started coming to the ravine again when her and Peter had a huge fight and she needed something to take her mind off of it.

She walked around the table so she could talk to him from the front. She sat down dangerously close to him and put her hand on his upper thigh. She smiled into his face as he looked into hers with a large grin on his face. She loved his smile; it always made her secretly melt on the inside. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips which led to them making out on the table. She pulled away after a minute or so and laughed. "How did you know to wait for me?"

Jay smiled at her and rubbed her leg. "Well, I can be addicting so I was pretty sure you would come back. Or maybe it was more of me hoping. Either way, we should probably take this to the van huh?" He smiled and got up leading the way towards the van. The door was closed when they got to it and Jay had to knock on the door to get the people inside to hear him. He was pretty respected at the ravine so when he said out, people had to get out. The door swung open and out came a girl wiping off her mouth and a guy smiling slyly. As he left he said to Jay, "It's all yours man."

Jay smiled and led Emma inside, closing the door behind them.

---

Sean walked around the ravine watching people run around and make out and he felt a little regret in coming there with Jay that evening. He really wasn't in the mood to hook up with anyone and there were no girls available anyways. Someone came by chasing a girl with a cup of cold water and tripped a little bit spilling half the glass on Sean. He picked up the front of his shirt and looked at the huge soak spot dripping in the middle of it. He sighed and decided he would find Jay and just tell him he was going back to the apartment. After a few minutes of searching he couldn't find any sign of Jay. Then he looked towards the van that was lightly rocking and smiled, knowing that Jay was in there. He moved to the van and knocked on the door, leaning against a tree right next to it as he waited for Jay to come out. After a few minutes the door slid open and Jay came out smiling and zipping up his pants.

"Have fun in there?" Sean smiled and laughed at Jay's expression. He then looked back to the van to see which lucky girl got to be with Jay tonight. To his horror and surprise he saw Emma come out of the van after him, looking untidy and messy. She had a smile on her face as she wiped her lips. Sean almost felt like crying again and wondered how Emma of all people could possibly be in this ravine hook up. "Emma..." He couldn't even think of what to say. Jay looked from Emma to Sean and sighed at Sean. Sean lit up and stormed past Jay to face Emma. "So apparently I leave and you turn into a slut? What the hell were you thinking coming here with him?" He screamed at her and before he could get a response he stormed past her and made his way back to the apartment.

As he entered the apartment complex and began calming down he realized that going back into Jay's apartment would mean he would have to face him later on. That was definitely the last thing that he wanted to do at the moment, but as he climbed the steps he knew had no other choice. He walked to the right and opened the apartment with the key Jay had given him. He immediately went to his bedroom to change into some cleaner clothes. He then grabbed his bag and walked out of the apartment not bothering to lock the door behind him. He walked over to Ellie's apartment and knocked on her door hoping that she would answer. After a few minutes he heard the door unlock and open. There stood a man that looked about in his mid 30s and very handsome. Sean stared at him with a confused expression wondering why Ellie had come to his room. "Uh, I'm looking for Ellie Nash. Maybe I have the wrong room."

"No you have the right room. I'm Jake, her boyfriend. Do you two know each other or something?" The man said looking Sean up and down.

Sean's mood went from sad to depressed and he nodded. "Yeah we do, but I'll just come back another time." He turned and walked down the steps wondering where he was supposed to go tonight. There was no one left and nowhere to go. He climbed into the backseat of his truck and lied down, using his bag as a pillow. He had thought it was going great when he had gotten into the apartment this afternoon and now he was sleeping in the backseat of his truck. It was the worst first day he had ever had. Maybe coming back to Degrassi wasn't the greatest idea after all.


	6. Noises and Lies

**Chapter 6- Noises and Lies**

Sean awoke in a cold sweat from a dream of the past night's events. He rubbed his eyes and sighed, blinking a couple of times into a bright light, then realized it was the overhead light and quickly turned it off. He took a look around, not quite sure of where he was. He felt a hard object under his back and reached behind him to bring it out. He discovered that it was the handle to his bag and he could feel large lumps rolling around under his head. He sat up and concluded that it must be really early morning as no one was up and the lights were turned off in nearly every apartment. He looked around his truck and was surprised he had survived the night. The backseat was tiny and he wasn't exactly ten years old anymore.

As he moved around and began digging in his bag for some clothes to change into, he heard a noise come from the back of the truck. It sounded like someone mumbling and trying to find something. What if it was a burglar? He knew he could handle someone like that. He slowly reached for the handle to the door and, as quietly as he could, eased the back door open. He stepped onto the ground one foot at a time then closed the door behind him, leaving it locked in but not fully closed. He moved around to the back of the truck and as he came around the bed he ran into someone and jumped. He wasn't expecting anyone to be up this early.

"Who's there...I've got mace." It was a sweet familiar voice that Sean dreaded hearing the most. He laughed at her little threat wondering why she was wandering around his truck. It was a little dark out there, particularly around his car but the streetlamps overhead were shining pretty brightly.

"Uh oh, your not really gonna spray me with mace are you?" Sean laughed but a soft hiss interrupted his laughter and suddenly he felt his eyes burning. He fell to his knees hard and cringed, crying out in pain. He fell forward onto his hands and felt his fingers being crushes by large boots as he rubbed his eyes to try to ease the pain. He cried out again and grabbed the foot, heard a little cry of surprise and then someone hitting the ground. He got up, holding his weight on the car and looked down.

"Ellie, what the hell? I was just playing around." The streetlamp above them came on and he could see Ellie in a business outfit getting up and dusting her self off. She had curled her hair, which he now noticed only went just past her shoulders, and she was carrying a fancy looking black briefcase. She looked at him and put her hand to her mouth with a sadly surprised expression on her face. She must have really thought he was a burglar considering she had jumped on the mace so fast.

"Sean? What are you doing up this early...and outside? You look like you just woke up." She took a good look at his eyes, probably checking to see if she had done enough damage to him to pay for the previous day. For a second he got worried when her hand twitched on the mace can which was squeezed between her hand and the briefcase handle. Then she eased up a little bit and smiled, something much unexpected.

"Well, maybe it's because I did just wake up, I slept in my car. But it also might be the fact that you just emptied your can of mace into my eyes." He rubbed them a little bit wondering if the pain would ever stop. He looked back at Ellie who looked regretful for jumping to attack him.

"Yeah...sorry about that, I kind of thought you were some guy trying to rob me. You can never be too sure you know. Hehe...well I'd love to stay and chat but I really have to get to work." She picked up the keys she had obviously dropped sometime earlier and made her way towards her car. She turned around. "Before I go, I just want to say I'm sorry about yesterday. I jumped down your throat and I'm sorry, it was childish. I was just really upset. If you want to talk about it maybe tonight, I'd definitely go for that. Just stop by my apartment around dinnertime and we'll play catch up over dinner." She smiled one last time before getting into her car. She sat there for a minute getting organized and then drove off on her way to work. Sean's eyes followed her car around the side of the apartments until he couldn't see it anymore.

He looked around and realized he had no where to really get ready. He didn't even know what time it was and hadn't bothered to ask Ellie. He went back to his truck and opened the half closed door. He dug in the backseat for the keys and finally found them buried under a shaving kit. He moved to the front and turned the ignition backwards so he could get a view of the clock. 5:10 AM. He sighed and took the keys out of the ignition without really grasping them. As he went to leave they fell to the floor in front of the driver's seat. He grunted, annoyed, and picked them up, holding one key in particular. He realized it was Jay's key, the one to the apartment he had been offered to share. The thought of going back into Jay's apartment after last night made Sean cringe. Then again, he needed to find a place to take a shower.

As Sean made his way up the stairs to the apartment he couldn't help but notice how much noise he was making. He was sure somebody would have woken up by now and he was hoping it wasn't Jay. The last thing he needed was a long conversation about Jay's betrayal. He unlocked the front door and slowly entered the apartment, closing the door softly once he was inside. Quietly he removed his shoes and made his way into the bedroom. He stepped inside and tiptoed into the bathroom, turning on the light and closing the door that led to Jay's room. He went back into his room and picked out a few clothes.

He took a step into the shower and closed the glass door. The hot water stung his back like fire but he couldn't help but feel relaxed and relieved of all his worries. He sat there for what seemed like ten minutes just soaking under the burning hot water. When he felt it beginning to run cold he shampooed his hair and washed it off. He grabbed the bar of soap and rinsed his body off, feeling the sweat run off in rivers. When he was done with the cleaning he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower grabbing a nearby towel and wiping off his face. He dried himself off, slipped on some briefs, and eyed his shirt, sighing at how wrinkly it was.

Grabbing the shirt and jeans, Sean walked back into the hallway and down a little further. He opened the third door that he hadn't been in yet and was happy to find a laundry room. He opened the dryer, popped in the shirt and jeans and put it on for about twenty minutes. Then he walked back in to the bedroom and started getting ready, slicking his hair and washing his face. He pulled out a razor and shaved a few wild hairs stranded across his cheeks and chin. As he was putting on the deodorant he heard a click to his right and turned to see Jay opening the door to his bedroom.

"Dude, it's like 5:30, what the hell are you doing up?" He walked in further, his eyes practically shut from having to adjust to the light. After a few seconds he blinked off the sleep and looked at Sean standing there wiping his face off. "Ok so now you're not talking to me? Look man, I would have told you but...I didn't think you would really mind."

Sean felt his anger growing and turned to face Jay man to man. "You didn't think I would mind? You were screwing my ex girlfriend, Jay, what the hell did you think I would do, root for you? Thought I would say 'atta boy Jay, get her going? I just figured even you would have enough feeling in you to care that much about me." He turned and walked into his bedroom looking for anything to distract him from hitting Jay straight in the mouth. He began digging in his bag for nothing to maybe hold the fight off a little longer.

Jay sighed and followed Sean into the bedroom, watching him dig through his bag. Honestly he didn't know what to say. "Ok, the truth is...I knew you still had a thing for her. This entire thing started about three months after you left; she came to the ravine one night and well...things got out of hand. It stopped after that and since the beginning of summer she's been visiting every night. I thought it might help her because she was going through a stressful time or something. I really never meant for it to go that far last night. I was actually going to try and get you to see her and maybe talk to her. But she practically forced me into the van." He hated to lie...actually he loved it because it got him out of almost every situation. He was a natural born liar. It did feel a bit difficult doing it to a good friend but what had to be done would be done.

"Yeah well you could have warned me that she turned into a slut. You didn't have to break it to me so hard. And what is so complicated with you and saying no?" Sean felt his eyes sting with angry tears at the hurt this entire thing caused him. He didn't know why he still had feelings for Emma; he thought they had gone when he left Degrassi. But that day when he had said goodbye, he could feel something going on between him and her. It was like she needed him to go back with them. And now he comes back to see that she has turned into a slut that forces Jay into the van at the ravine. It wasn't like Emma at all, but maybe a traumatic event like a shooting could change anyone. "You know what, never mind. It doesn't even matter. Let's just forget this entire thing happened and move on." He heard a beep and went to get his clothes out of the dryer, leaving Jay to stand and smile in his room, knowing he had just got himself out of another one.


	7. And So the Day Begins

**Chapter 7- And So the Day Begins**

Sean walked up to Degrassi that day looking fresh and cleaner than he had the day before. He was neatly shaven and had on a nice collared shirt with some jeans. He walked in and panned his eyes across the foyer and a somewhat happy feeling hit him. He had had some really good times in this school and he was somewhat glad he was back. He looked at his schedule. First period with Mr. Simpson. He was actually pretty excited to see the guy after two years. He walked to his locker and grabbed some books he would need for the class. As he was about to walk into the M.I. Lab, he caught site of Emma coming around a hallway towards the room. He quickly dodged inside and grabbed himself a seat near the back of the classroom. He was one of the first to be inside and noticed that there were a lot of empty chairs beside him. That would give Emma an opportunity to get close and talk.

As he picked up his things and prepared to get up he heard some things being dropped on the table right behind him. He whirled around to see the one person he was most hoping not to see. Emma Nelson stood there, staring at him straight in the eye. After a few seconds she dropped her gaze to her pencil bag and kept it there for a little while.

"Um...is this seat taken?" She looked at him and smiled hopefully, knowing what his answer would probably be. She hadn't expected him to be at the ravine of all places, but then again she shouldn't have been there in the first place. It was one of the most awkward moments of her life.

"No. But if you don't mind I'd rather have you sit on the opposite side of the classroom. I don't think Mr. Simpson would like you giving me blow jobs in class and I wouldn't want to get in trouble on my second day back," Sean spit out, getting angrier at the thought of her sitting in the van with Jay doing God knows what. That had been one of the most horrible welcome backs he had ever received and he didn't have the time or patience for Emma this morning.

Emma was surprised he had just blurted it out and rather loudly. "What are you talking about?" She looked a little shocked and surprised but confused all the same. She took a seat and looked up at him, her eyes pleading for him to sit down and lower his voice.

"What do you mean what am I talking about? You were in the van yesterday with Jay, giving him head, screwing him, whatever. Don't act all innocent like it didn't happen Emma. I just can't believe that you of all people would give in to Jay and actually do things like that. What's happened to you?" He took a seat and looked at her in the eyes, actually somewhat concerned now. She hadn't ever done things like this when he was around and she certainly never thought about it. It seems like everything fell apart after he left.

"Look Sean. When you left, I was confused and I had no one to turn to, no one to ask for help. There wasn't anyone there to stop Jay or me from making a mistake. I led myself to the situation and it's completely my fault, not Jay's. I shouldn't have let it go on so long and I'm sorry you had to see that last night. You came back and I lost control of my emotions. I guess I sort of feel like Jay...puts them together and helps me keep control. I don't know why and it's stupid but I really do feel bad for it and...I...I still care about you. I have since we broke up. I just can't get these feelings to go away and I care about you too much to let this get any worse." She looked like she could cry but Sean knew she was keeping it in as hard as she could. He was starting to feel a little sorry for her, but after what she did, he really couldn't feel all that bad.

"Yeah well you could have come to me about it. You had the entire school day yesterday and I even stopped by your house yesterday. I meant to come in and ask about talking to you but I thought you were avoiding me and Manny got a little weird when I mentioned your name. Either way, you didn't have to go to Jay; you never have to go to Jay. Have I ever not been there for you Emma? Every time you got into trouble or messed up, I was there for you. Every time, I even saved your life and obviously all of that means nothing to you because you went and hooked up with Jay and acted like I never existed." Sean wanted to punch a hole through the wall but kept himself as calm as he could. He didn't want to do anything stupid.

"No Sean, it does mean something to me; that's exactly why it's so hard for me. You can't just return and mess with my emotions and expect me to be all happy and giddy that your home again. It confused me because I did forget about you after a while. I moved on and started dating someone who I'm in love with now. But when you got home...it threw me off and I'm sorry for everything that's happened. Especially for yesterday, that really isn't me. I'm not some hoochie that sleeps with guys at the ravine, it was just a stressful time for me and it has been all summer." She looked down, dreading to think of her eating disorder and all the therapy sessions she went through to get over it. She still thought about her weight but never went as far as she once did. Instead she took it out by going to the ravine. It didn't make much sense but it somehow relieved her of all her troubles and worries.

At that moment the bell rang and Sean, who looked as if he was confused now, pushed in his chair and took one long look at Emma. "I can't talk about this right now, I'm just...I'm pissed off and I'm not in the mood to fight with you anymore." With that said he walked over to the other side of the classroom and sat down as Mr. Simpson walked through the door. He smiled at Mr. S and caught up a little bit as the class got ready to begin the lesson. The entire conversation Sean was thinking about Emma and everything she had said.


	8. Student Teacher

**Chapter 8- Student Teacher**

Later that day, Sean found himself sitting outside at the picnic tables alone, eating his lunch in a refreshing silence. It gave him the opportunity to reflect on his thoughts and everything that had happened so far today. He had tried to avoid thinking about his conversation with Emma the entire day but it just automatically popped into his head now. He thought back to every detail and after looking it over felt he had overreacted just a bit.

He swallowed the last bit his peanut butter and jelly sandwich and polished off the rest of his coke. He looked around at everyone else outside, eating in their little groups and having fun while talking to all their friends. He didn't know anyone and he felt sort of on the outside. He wished he could be more social but he just wasn't the social type. He could never strike up a conversation with someone without getting bored for very long. He usually met people while he was doing something he liked and noticed they were into it also. It was his natural way of communication.

He threw his trash away and entered the building to face the rest of his long, hopeless day. He had Mr. Armstrong next, which would mean he had to be in the same room as Emma. The thought made him a little nervous, seeing as she was probably wanting to talk about everything. He knew he would just blow up in her face again and get sent to the office for misconduct. He went to his locker and grabbed his math binder and book. He slammed it shut and made his way to Mr. Armstrong's class, trying his best to ignore the hallway he had to pass through. It helped that it was full of students now unlike before when he had to go through it while it was deserted. The memories tried to reach the front of his mind but he blocked them out the best that he could.

As he entered the classroom, he noticed that he was, once again, one of the first students to be there. It was weird to imagine that he was once a horrible student that either showed up late or didn't show up at all. Now he was getting to class early and focusing on his studies. Going back to Wasaga had definitely changed him for the better. He took a seat near the back right at the window. He didn't bother to ask Mr. Armstrong for a seating chart, he didn't really care about the seating arrangements already made. That was one part of him he was happy to still have.

He opened up his math book and turned to the page written on the chalkboard. He could barely understand half of the words on the page or any of the math being shown. He wasn't ready to start on Pre-Calculus, it was so boring. Due to him being wrapped up in the book, he didn't even notice the fact that the classroom was filling up and someone was walking down his aisle straight towards his seat. There was a thud in front of him. He looked up to see Manny smiling at him and then sitting down in the seat in front of him. Following her was Emma who tried to avoid any eye contact with Sean. He ignored her and went on looking at the day's lesson.

"Uh...that's kind of my seat." Sean looked up to see her still standing there with her things in front of her. She still avoided looking in his eyes and nudged Manny to try and get her to speak up. Before Sean could say anything the bell rang and Emma turned around to see Mr. Armstrong standing at the front of the class with a confused expression directed at her.

"See, this is my seat and well...I'm just trying to follow your seating chart." She smiled at him hoping he would move Sean seeing as she would really need Manny in this class period to help her through it. But Mr. Armstrong's facial expression turned from confused to annoyed. He pointed to a desk at the very front and closest to the door. Emma sighed and with a small pout on her face made her way to the desk. She sat down and looked back at the corner. Sean had put his focus back in the book and Manny was fixing her hair in her mirror while Mr. Armstrong wasn't looking. She sighed again and laid her elbow on the desk, resting the side of her head on her clenched fist.

As it got closer to the middle of the period, Sean started getting more and more confused with what Mr. Armstrong was trying to teach them. It didn't make any sense to him and he was hoping that he wasn't the only one. He looked up and stared around the room at all the heads bent over the worksheet in front of them. They were all working so hard so they must understand it well. He looked to Emma who had a concentrated look on her face and a pencil scribbling furiously across her paper. He sighed and wished that he hadn't snapped at her earlier. She could have really helped him out. He looked ahead of him and was surprised to see Manny bent over as well. He could see just her back, the lower half completely visible considering her shirt rode up high when she bent over. He shook off the strange feeling he got and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey Manny...psst...Manny," he whispered to her. She turned around to stare at him. He smiled at her and eyed his paper. "Uh...I don't understand this and I was wondering if...if you would mind helping me out." Sean sighed and tapped his forehead with his pencil. Manny looked from him to his paper and smiled widely. She turned back towards her desk and then returned with her math book in her hands

"Ok which problem don't you understand?" She smiled at him, still surprised that he had asked her for help. She was happy to give it to him. It gave her a sort of...caring feeling like she was making a difference. She always overanalyzed things like this.

"Well no problem in particular. Just with the whole...how to get the answer. I just don't understand how you can get that answer from that problem." Sean paid close attention as Manny began explaining in a whispered voice how to do the problem. Their faces were close and he could feel her breath on his skin every time she finished talking. He drowned out the rest of the class and listened to only her. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Emma look up with a glare at the two of them. He wondered why she was so angry, it wasn't like they were seeing each other or even attracted to each other. They didn't even act like it. It was just one person helping someone else out. She raised her hand and Mr. Armstrong finally looked up from his work to see her hand raised.

"Mr. Armstrong, I don't understand this question." Emma lied as she brought him over to her desk. Halfway through reading out the question she looked back at Manny and Sean to try and throw Mr. Armstrong's attention at them. To Sean's sadness Mr. Armstrong looked over and told them to be quiet. Emma smiled at Sean with a satisfied expression and turned back to her work.

Sean sighed and after a few minutes of staring at his paper and getting more and more frustrated with not understanding anything, he tapped Manny on the shoulder again and handed her a note. He looked around the room and went back to blankly staring at his paper. As he got around to thinking he might have solved something, the bell rang and the sounds of books slamming and papers being put away filled the room. He packed up his things and stood up looking over Manny's shoulder to see her finishing up her last problem. He wondered if she had read the note yet. He watched as the room emptied out and was afraid of being late to his next period so he just walked up beside her. "Manny...uh about that note. Tell me if you can make it later on I guess. Maybe at lunch," he said as he began walking towards the door.

Manny nodded his way and put the note in her pocket. As she put her completed homework away she looked over at Emma's desk to see Emma had already left without her. That wasn't like Emma; she normally always waited for Manny to finish up. IShe must have had to really go the restroom or something,/I Manny thought to herself. She got up and smiled at Mr. Armstrong as she walked through the doorway and into the crowded hallway full of screaming and laughing teenagers. She sighed as she forced her way through a tight opening and got to her locker as fast as she could. She couldn't even stand these hallways anymore; it was like nobody even noticed that there was a person walking through them. The only time she got stares was when a perverted guy gave her a good look up and down. She may have changed her clothing to a more conservative look but it didn't change the way she looked or felt about herself.

She packed all her books in and slammed her locker shut, then turned to the huge crowd and saw Sean appear out of a particularly squeezy space between two groups. She laughed as he caught his breath pretending to be winded and worn out.

"I see moving through the hallways of hell hasn't gotten any easier," Sean shouted above the noisy students cramming the area around the tiny locker spot where Manny and Sean were standing. They could barely fit in there without being pushed from behind. Sean smiled and was about to say something else when someone from behind was pushed into him, causing him to fall forward onto Manny, pinning her to the lockers. If someone were to walk up right then, it would look like they were making out. It was a very awkward position so Sean immediately moved back and glared at the person behind him. "Sorry...uh so did you read that note?"

"I can barely understand you," Manny yelled as she turned and made her way through the crowd. She stuck a hand out behind her and waved Sean to follow her. Once they reached a quieter hallway she turned to him and smiled. "So what were you saying back there?" She began walking at the same time because she could tell the bell was going to ring in a minute or two and the gym teacher always got pissed when she was late.

"I said, 'did you read the note?'" Sean said as he walked beside her, noticing he was going towards the girl's gym which was the complete opposite direction of his next class. He slowed their walk down to a halt and waited for her answer.

"Oh...the note. Um not yet, why what did it say?" She looked to her right towards the gym door that she needed to be entering right now. She sighed and looked back at Sean with a sort of rushed look. She could see everyone picking up the pace to get to their class faster. It was almost time for the bell to ring and if she didn't get to gym soon she was going to face fifty pushups. With her jello arms, it was impossible.

"I was just asking if you could help me study at The Dot...say around...five?" Sean knew she was in a hurry and he was too. He began backing away towards his next class as she did the same. As he got to the end of the hallway the bell rang.

"Um...I don't know I'll have to check. I'll get back to you at lunch." Manny said as she walked to the gym entrance in a brisk pace. She opened the door to find the gym coach waiting for her there. She pouted and got down on her hands and knees to begin her fifty pushups. She got to twenty before buckling and falling to her stomach groaning. The coach sighed and dismissed her to get dressed and into the gym.

Sean got to his next class, science, and stopped at the door to take a breath before entering. Ms. Hatzilacos was teaching his period because there was a shortage of teachers this year. They were the only class she taught every day so she was a little tough on them and put extreme emphasis on things like tardiness, late homework, not studying, and goofing off in class. She tolerated almost nothing. It seemed like she had gotten a lot stricter after he had left, but then again she was principal now and had a reputation to keep. He immediately turned to the tardy sheet and signed it, avoiding Ms. H's annoyed stare as she took role. He took a seat and got out his homework which he had actually had time to finish this morning. He looked at the chalkboard and read over the lesson they were going to learn today, but had his mind on other things...


	9. Wrecked

**Chapter 9- Wrecked**

Manny entered the gym to see a huge net stretched across the middle of the basketball court and a couple of volleyballs lying next to the pole holding the net up. She smiled, happy to see that today they were playing a sport she could handle. She was pretty good when it came to volleyball and began stretching with Darcy and Shante. She wondered where Emma was and looked around the gym, not seeing her anywhere. She sighed and stretched her leg stiffly in front of her, leaning on it to get it prepared for the workout she was going to get today. The coach blew the whistle to begin and the ball was served over the net and volleyed back and forth a couple of times. After Manny hit a nice shot over, she noticed Emma was up and serving on their side. She smiled at her, sticking her thumbs up to let Emma know she could do it.

Emma saw Manny give her a thumbs up and faked a smile. As she brought her arm back she thought back to Mr. Armstrong's class and the little flirting action going on between Manny and Sean. She was horrified at the thought of her best friend, who she thought she could trust and depend upon, hitting on her man. Manny knew how much he meant to her and she was going to go and try and ruin it because she was so used to boy stealing that it was natural. She served the ball straight towards Manny's area, trying to get it to hit just where Manny would have a difficult time returning it. Manny jumped and hit it, sliding on the ground as it went over. Darcy helped Manny up and both looked at Emma, surprised that she had served such a difficult shot to Manny. They were best friends and usually Emma and Manny would go easy on each other when it came sports.

"What did you do to piss her off?" asked Darcy as Manny and she got back in position. Manny just shook her head and focused ahead of her, a determined look spread on her face.

Emma finished serving and moved to the front line to face Manny. She gave her a cold look and stared to the left at Darcy, waiting for the ball to be served. It went over the net and straight to Darcy who nailed it back over to Emma's side. It was returned and the ball fell towards Manny, who hoping to ease things up a bit with her and Emma, whatever the problem was, hit a soft pass over the net to Emma. Emma, taking her chance, ran to the net and jumped up, slamming the ball back down at Manny. She spiked it right onto Manny's nose. A cracking noise kept the ball's bouncing beat company as Manny fell to the floor. Emma gaped at what she had done and watched as Manny kneeled on her knees and put her hands on her face to hide the tears that now began filling her eyes.

"Emma Nelson, we specifically said no spiking the ball. You could have really hurt her. I want you to go into the changing rooms now, get dressed, and wait in my office," the coach said as she kneeled beside Manny and forced herself beyond Manny's hands to take a look at her nose. She turned to Emma who hadn't moved, obviously she was still a little shocked at what she had done. "Emma, don't make me send you to Ms. Hatzilacos. Please don't make me do that, just go and do what I told you."

Emma walked past everyone who stared at her like she was psychotic. She herself didn't understand why she was so jealous. Manny was her best friend and she wouldn't have done anything to hurt her and Sean's relationship. She seemed to be really screwing up today and acting funny, she wasn't sure what exactly was going on or why she was acting this way, but she did as the coach said. She changed into her regular clothes and walked into the coach's office, taking a seat and staring straight ahead, wondering what was going to happen. After about fifteen minutes the coach came in and took a seat, at first not speaking. She shuffled papers around on her desk as Emma waited in silence for the lecture she was about to take on.

"Emma...you are one of my best students. You have never caused trouble; you've never done anything like this. So I need to ask you if something is going on that could make you act this way. What exactly do you have against Miss Santos?" She sighed and pulled up something on her computer, turning to the screen to Emma and then staring at her eye to eye.

"This is a report I could write up and send to the principal if I had to. I really don't want to do this but you are going to need a good explanation and you're going to have to start explaining now. This is just unacceptable behavior and completely out of your nature. You aren't hostile or violent." She said looking down with a disappointed expression on her face, as if she expected a lot more from a straight A student like Emma.

"Honestly...I don't know what's wrong. I just got really angry at her for something stupid and I thought this would be my chance to get back at her. I'm really sorry and I promise it won't happen again. Please don't fill that out, I know you know I'm a good kid. I just screwed up and like I said it won't happen again. I promise," Emma said, beginning to get a little teary at the end. The truth was she wasn't so sure she was ok. She had gone from having an alright day to having her worst nightmare come true. She couldn't understand why someone who was her friend would hurt her like that, whether it was intentional or not.

"Ok...I'm going to let you off with a warning. But hear this, if I catch you pulling any stunts like that again, I'm sending you straight to the principal's office, no questions about it. Now I want you to go out there and apologize to Miss Santos, then I want you to collect all the volleyballs and put the bag in the equipment room." She got up from her desk and made her way to the door, waiting for Emma to pass through before closing the office behind her. She walked back into the gym behind Emma, making sure that she didn't try and escape what was sure to be an awkward situation.

Emma slowly walked across the gym towards Manny who was sitting on the bottom row of the bleachers. Her nose was already starting to swell up, a small amount of dried blood could be seen around her nostrils, and her eyes were bloodshot red like she had been crying a lot. Darcy and Shante were glued to her shoulders, trying to soothe her and help her. They looked up and Emma noticed their grip on Manny's shoulder tighten at the sight of her. She shook it off and opened her mouth to speak. After a few seconds she closed it, realizing she had no idea what to say to her. She couldn't just apologize for pulling a stunt like that, but that's exactly what she would have to do for now until she could talk to Manny in private.

After saying sorry to Manny and collecting all the balls she made her way to the storage closet where all the equipment was placed after use. She opened the door cringed as the musty air engulfed her nostrils. It was a mixture of sweat and spit covering all of the previously used equipment. She always hated how the boys got all the new stuff while the girls got their poorly taken care of hand-me-downs. She had once tried to stop it but the school did nothing about it, saying their budget couldn't cover both classes. She threw the bag of volleyballs on top of everything and slammed the door shut, turning to the entrance of the locker room to make her way to lunch.

As she entered the cafeteria, she immediately smelled the day's special hot lunch serving. The craving for it, food in general, began to grow inside her and she felt the strange need to get a huge lunch today. But, considering the fact that she had a huge breakfast she ignored her stomach and moved on to find the usual table where she sat with Manny. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to sit there after what she had just done, but she thought it was worth a try so she could at least hope for Manny to listen to her explanation. She found the empty table and grabbed a seat as she waited. After about five minutes she spotted Manny entering the cafeteria, talking and laughing with Darcy and Shante. She had a huge bandage across her nose; apparently she had gone to the nurse to see if it was a serious injury. As Manny came to sit at the table, her expression changed from happy to angry when she saw Emma sitting right there with a smile. She sighed and sat down at the opposite end of the table from Emma, hoping to just ignore her all lunch long. Darcy and Shante looked at each other, realizing that this could get ugly and sat down on either side of Manny.

"Manny, can I please talk to you about earlier...just let me explain because I acted so immature and out of line. I'm sorry," Emma said to Manny, leaning over the table towards her. She was hoping for Manny to say something but instead she just sat there, staring at the table and completely ignoring her. Emma sighed and moved down the table so that she was across from Manny. She took a hold of Manny's outstretched hands. "Look I'm really sorry about earlier. I was thinking about something and it got me angry and I just took it out on you for no reason. I know you probably want to kill me right now, but you're my best friend and I never want that to change."

Manny pulled her hands out from under Emma's and laughed, not amused. "Emma, you spiked the ball into my nose. What the hell could you possibly be that angry at me for?" she said through clenched teeth as Darcy and Shante exchanged worried glances while they followed the conversation back and forth across the table. Emma didn't know what else she could say but she knew that Manny was right. She couldn't agree with her more but the thing was, she didn't know how to explain why she was angry at Manny. It was a stupid jealousy over something completely nonexistent. She was afraid Manny wouldn't really believe her.

"Well I saw you talking to Sean today and I took it the wrong way and overanalyzed it and...I went against you and what I know you as and thought you were going to try and steal him from me. I know it's completely not me and I really don't know why I'm acting like this, I'm just angry and mad now and I can't help it. It...it scares me. I need your help here Manny, please help me out," Emma said as her eyes got teary for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Only this time she thought she was really going to cry if Manny didn't help her out. She stared at Manny who looked as though she was a bit taken aback by Emma's response.

"Ok...so you, my supposed best friend, think that I'm actually going to go and backstab you and take Sean away from you. I don't even like Sean. I mean, yeah, he's a cool guy but only as a friend. I don't understand how you can think we are best friends when you actually thought I could do something like that. I can't help you Emma, I don't want to help you. Not now anyways; not after what you did," Manny said. She stood up abruptly and walked in a quick pace to the entrance of the cafeteria, Darcy and Shante quick on her heels. Emma let a tear slip from her eye, stinging her cheek as she saw Manny walk away from her. It felt like the world was going to end; she had no other friends to turn to. No one who really cared about her and she had gone and ruined everything with the only person that did. She hated herself and couldn't believe how much of a wreck she was. She got up from her seat and looked around at everyone laughing and having fun with their friends. She rushed out of the cafeteria and around a corner. Before she could stop she bumped into someone she hadn't seen in a couple of days and was actually hoping to avoid for a bit longer.

"Emma...are you ok? I haven't talked to you in a couple of days, where have you been...and why are you crying?" Peter asked as he helped Emma up. He straightened her out and brushed off her shoulder. "What happened?" He waved his hand in front of her teary eyes.

"Yeah I'm fine...I've just been really busy with the first day of school and getting ready for it," she whimpered through her trembling lips. She ignored his question about why she was crying; she didn't have the energy to explain what had happened to him. "I'm sorry Peter, I really have to go and find a restroom to wash my face or something," she said as she walked past him, the path in front of her slowly starting to get blurry. She shook her head and blinked her eyes a couple of times as she found a bathroom and stepped inside, hanging herself over the sink and looking into the mirror. Her eyes were red and her face was wet with tears. She thought about Manny and about everyone she had hurt for no reason and how she was about to hurt Peter. She started crying, banging her hands on the counter and falling against the wall, sinking to her butt and resting her head on her knees. She didn't know what to do or where to go from here; she had no one on her side and nobody who could even trust her anymore. She didn't even trust herself now that she thought about it.

After what seemed like an hour, she heard the bell ring outside and knew that kids would be piling into the hallways and into the bathroom she was in. She pushed herself up using the wall and washed her face in the sink. She stared at her reflection, wondering how she had gone from completely together the day before to a complete wreck today. She had ruined everything in just eighteen hours and wished she could turn back the clock. As girls began coming into the restroom, she shook the feeling off and walked out, making her way to the last class of the day.


	10. Lips of an Angel

**Chapter 10- Lips of an Angel**

Sean stepped out of his last class of the day happier than he could be. He had made it through day two of school and had possibly made a new friend. He looked around in the hallways for Manny, knowing she would be somewhere around the English class because that was her last period. He knew this simply because he had glanced at her schedule, there was nothing creepy or stalker like about it. He kept telling himself that as he made his way towards the English hallway. He reached the doorway just as Manny came strolling out, struggling to pack some books into her bag. He smiled and grabbed a couple of the books just as they were about to fall.

"Need some help there?" He laughed and shoved them into her bag like it was nothing. It really wasn't that hard, she must have just been a little weak. She smiled and looked up at Sean who was caught off guard. He could finally see her face where a huge bandage stretched across her nose and she looked as though she was in pain. He wondered what happened to her and how she walked away with an injury like that. He thought it might be a catfight, those could get pretty wild sometimes and Manny was known to cause them back in her day. "Wow...what happened to your nose?"

Manny turned red and covered the bandage with her hand. She seemed really embarrassed about it and Sean thought it was kind of cute. He smiled at her but felt a little bad for putting her on the spot like that. He waited patiently for an answer as they walked along to the front door. "It was...um...an accident. I tripped when we were playing volleyball and I fell on my face. I'm such a ditz." She laughed and adjusted her bag on her shoulder; he could see the bag strap digging in deep.

"Here, let me." He grabbed the bag from her and wrapped it around his shoulder. He was surprised at how heavy it really was and wondered how she had carried it so far. She smiled at him as he opened the door for her once they got to the front of the building. They were two of the last to leave, seeing as they had moved so slow through the hallway. He followed her out and they stopped to talk at the bottom of the front steps.

"So...about The Dot and helping me study...it's ok if you can't go, I mean I would understand." Sean said, shunning himself on the inside as he wondered why he was always beating himself up and trying to talk for people. She hadn't said a word about not being able to go and yet here he was acting like he didn't want her to come. He gripped the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, hoping she wouldn't take what he said the wrong way.

"Oh...no I should be able to go. It's not like they need me at the house anyways and well...I can't exactly work looking like this. So, let's go." She smiled and began walking in the direction of The Dot. Sean smiled at her being so bubbly and happy and followed her. He wondered whether she felt the same strange feeling he did when they were together. As they rounded the corner and got closer to The Dot, they walked side by side goofing around and chatting. He was catching up on everything that happened while he was gone and was actually having a good time.

They got to The Dot and grabbed the first available booth seat. They ordered some fries and cokes and took their books out so they could begin studying. Manny was opening to the page number when her pencil rolled over onto Sean's side of the table. As she reached over to get it, Sean got a clear view straight down Manny's shirt. He felt a little perverted for the second time while in Manny's presence; first seeing her in thong and now seeing her boobs. But, regardless of this thought, he couldn't make himself look away. As she reached for the pencil it rolled onto Sean's lap. Before he could move she reached over and grabbed it, brushing his thigh as she pulled the pencil back. Sean got this tingly feeling in his leg that went up his entire body and he shivered a bit. He hadn't ever looked at Manny in any other way besides as a friend because she had always seemed like too much of a tease. But as he spent more and more time with her he found himself enjoying her company and imaging things being able to go further than just friendship.

After two trays of fries and three rounds of soda, they were done with the homework and Sean understood everything. He decided to try and casually change the topic. He began asking her what her favorite things to do where, what she liked the most and what she hated. It was fun to get to know her and they at times would crack up at each other's answers. They were actually becoming pretty good friends as far as Sean could tell and Manny was really into his jokes and sense of humor. She laughed at pretty much everything he threw at her and she had the most amazing smile he had ever seen. She was just naturally beautiful and he admired that.

As they started getting into sharing secrets, Sean got a little nervous and got quieter than he had been. He had a lot of secrets that Manny probably shouldn't know about, some of them involving his days in the infamous Ravine. He had a dark past, filled with fighting, regret, and abortion, that haunted him everywhere he went. But that was all a thing of the past and Amy was out of his life now. Manny told him about little things she had done and what kind of things she had experimented with when she was in her freshman year.

Finally as their conversation started to slow down, Sean noticed it was getting dark outside and looked down at his watch. He was surprised to see that it was already seven and he remembered he would have to get back to the apartment soon. He still had a lot of homework to finish for other classes and now that he had math out of the way he could focus on completing everything else. He shut his math book and packed it into his bag.

"Whoa, it's getting kind of late. I'm having a great time but I have a ton of other work to do before I hit the sack." He looked up at Manny who was staring at the ceiling with a goofy expression on her face. She laughed and nodded at him in agreement. She looked really happy and he was glad to know that he had helped in getting her there. He had learned a lot about her that night and was happy he suggested it in the first place.

As Sean got up from the booth, Manny packed her stuff up and followed him to the counter where he pulled some money out of his pocket to pay. It was sweet of him to treat her like that; she wasn't even thinking about the bill. She wondered what Snake and Spike would think when she got in this late; she was normally home around five or six. Sean held the door open for her as they got to the entrance of The Dot. She smiled and thanked him, then waltzed through pretending to be proper and ladylike. They both started laughing as they made their way back to the school. Sean's truck was still there and he wanted to end his study session with Manny by bringing her home, even if Emma's house was only five minutes from the school.

"So do you mind if I give you a ride back to Emma's house? It won't take long and it's the least I can do after you taught me that math stuff plus I want to." Sean smiled at her, hoping that she would say yes. He didn't want to have to leave her yet because he was having such a good time.

"Sure, that'd be great." They reached his car and he hit the switch to open all the doors. Manny smiled at him and hopped in the passenger's side. He jumped in the driver's seat and started the car. As they drove the five minutes to Emma's house, they were talking the entire way about the latest movies that had come out and which ones looked good. When they finally reached Emma's house, Sean pulled up slowly in front of it, coming to a soft halt. Manny grabbed her bag from the backseat and turned to him.

"Thanks for the ride. I had tons of fun today, thanks for inviting me." She reached for the car handle and pulled it but it wouldn't open. She pulled harder and when it still wouldn't open she turned back to Sean, puzzled. "Um...something's wrong with your door." He looked over at the door and noticed that it was locked; it was blatantly obvious. He played it cool though and reached over, tugged on it a little bit, and moved back to his seat in false defeat. Manny, who knew what was wrong and was just playing along, reached over to his side and pressed the unlock button to the left of Sean. She leaned back up and found her face dangerously close to Sean's; close enough to feel his every breath on her lips. She knew she shouldn't act out what was in her mind; she would be betraying her best friend, but she was so pissed off at Emma at that moment that she didn't even care. She leaned in and planted a soft but passionate kiss on Sean's lips, landing a hand on his inner thigh. They sat there for a moment, kissing in the dark cab of the truck. As she pulled away slowly, they sat there with their eyes closed for a second, both drinking in the moment they had been anticipating since they left The Dot. Manny opened her eyes and smiled at him, then reached for the handle. This time the door opened and she took one last look back at him.

"Wow...well um...I'll see you tomorrow I guess," Sean said, a surprised smile on his face. If only he could see the look on his face; like a ten year old boy that had just opened exactly what they had asked for on Christmas. He wasn't at all disappointed, it was exactly how he had wanted the day to end but he didn't want her to leave yet. She pushed the door open all the way and let her hand drag across his thigh as she slid out of the truck, sending waves of intense feelings through his body. He shivered for a second time that night at her touch and smiled at her one last time. He wished they could have kept kissing but if Emma were to see them it would be hell to pay.

"Yeah, definitely. Thanks again for today." She shut the car door walked around the front of the truck and up the steps, turning back to see Sean staring at her with a dazed smile on his face. His eyes looked as if they were off in a different place, like they were seeing some crazy unreal world. She laughed at the thought and walked in the front door, closing the door quietly as she slipped off her shoes. She tiptoed past the living room where Snake and Spike were watching a movie and into the kitchen where two plates of food lay on the table untouched. She smiled at the gesture; Snake and Spike were so good to her that she almost didn't deserve them. They treated her like she was a member of their family, one of their daughters, and it made her sad to be in a fight with Emma. She slowly moved to the basement door and eased it open. Quickly but quietly, she crept down the stairs, avoiding the creaks that she knew were there. She made it to the bottom of the stairs and into the basement where she could just make out a figure lying in the bed. She smiled at Emma and dropped her bag at the side of the bed. She changed into her pajamas, removed her makeup, and brushed her teeth, even though she knew she would have to redo it all over again in a few hours. She couldn't go a night without working or she'd risk the chance of a lifetime. She was saving up for the unknown and it seemed like every place she had wanted to work at was taken or was only hiring older, more experienced people. She wasn't proud of the job she had ended up getting but it earned her a lot and she got tips bigger than her salary.

She walked over to the bed and gently laid down in it, focusing hard on not waking Emma up. She closed her eyes and fell into a short but comfortable sleep. A little alarm went off around twelve and she reluctantly got up, got dressed, reapplied all her makeup, and snuck out of the basement through the way she always went. It was a little harder in thin heels but she managed. When she landed in the grass she stood up and straightened herself out. She looked a lot different than when she had entered the house. She was wearing a short mini skirt and a tight top that showed midriff, cleavage, and had no straps.

She walked around the side of the house and stepped onto the sidewalk. It was disturbingly quiet and she could hear her heels click against the pavement with every step she took. She walked to the end of the street and took a right. Her work was a couple of blocks down and not in the best area of town. She was always afraid that she may be the victim of some sick night attack.

Finally she reached a noisy street covered with neon lights and drunk men stumbling from bars because they were too wasted to walk straight. Cars were parked all along the sidewalk and a few horns blared out as angry drunks attempted to drive home in hopes that they wouldn't be stopped by any police officers. She sighed as she reached a building somewhere in the center of this chaos and stopped. She looked up at the sign which had letters glowing neon red. The Catscratch Club, it read and then a small caption underneath it that she couldn't make out due to her being so close, but she was pretty sure of what it said. She hated the thought of going in there night after night to do the same thing that went against everything she was raised on. It was such a sin that she hoped nobody ever found out, she was sure if word of it ever reached her parents that her father would disown her for life.

She walked down a side alleyway that was heavily lit to ensure that nobody could try and attack someone. There were body guards standing outside a door that appeared to lead to the back area of the building. Manny walked up to the bulky man that was carrying a clip board and had a pen pinched between his thick, rugged fingers. He eyed her curiously and asked for her name; if she wasn't on the list she didn't get inside no matter how big her dreams were.

"Manuella," she said as she waited for him to find her on the list. Finally he made a grunt and scribbled something with his pen. He nodded to her and opened the door, closing it immediately as she got inside. She walked to an open makeup station and began preparing for her hour.


	11. The Catscratch Club

**Chapter 11- The Catscratch Club**

Sean drove his way back to the apartment complex, taking in everything around him but with his mind still trailing back to that kiss he had just shared with Manny. It was random considering they barely knew each other and tonight was the first night they had actually hung out but it was probably one of the best moments of his life. He really liked her and didn't want to give it all up because Emma was going to turn into a jealous friend when she found out about them. He knew she wouldn't understand and she would make it out that they were both betraying her. If she had cared so much about him, why was she hooking up with Jay?

He pulled into the apartment parking lot and parked in a spot close to the sidewalk. He gathered his thoughts and got out of the car, shutting and locking the door behind him. It was now sometime around 7:30 and it was pretty dark so he couldn't see much of the things around him. The streetlamps wouldn't turn on until 8. He quickly moved to the stairs and up to the second story balcony where his and Jay's apartment was located. He looked over at the door on the left and remembered his conversation with Ellie that morning. She was expecting him for dinner and normally he would love to but tonight he really just wanted to finish his work and sleep.

He sighed and moved to Ellie's door, knocking on it softly but loud enough for someone to hear. He heard footsteps clonking their way to the door and a click as the door as unlocked and opened. He was happy to see Ellie standing in front of him this time rather than her boyfriend.

"Hey, I'm glad you showed up," Ellie said with a smile on her face. She moved aside to make room for Sean to enter but he didn't move. "Are you ok?" she asked him, wondering why he wasn't coming inside. She had prepared a really nice dinner for the three of them and the last thing she wanted to hear from him was that he wasn't going to be able to make it.

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine. It's just, I had a really long day and I have a bunch of stuff to finish for school and...would it be ok if I got a rain check on the dinner? I have so much work to do and I doubt I'll get it all done in time as it is." He sighed at the thought of blowing Ellie off again after she had been nice enough to forgive him and invite him to dinner, but he really didn't have the time that night. He just wanted to get inside his apartment and finish his work over a big bowl of Easy Mac while he ran the events of that night over and over again in his mind. He watched Ellie's true happiness flicker into dust and he noticed the evil fake smile take over her.

"Oh no that's fine. The dinner wouldn't have been done for a little while anyways and you seem really busy so...another time I guess." She smiled the best that she could, even though she was disappointed inside. She wanted to take this opportunity over dinner to say sorry to Sean for how she had reacted and to catch up with everything. Despite what he did, she had missed him a lot. She smiled at him and said goodbye as she closed the door and locked it. She sighed and leaned against it, wondering if she would ever really get a chance alone with him again. She didn't want to go through such an awkward conversation while her boyfriend was there and she couldn't ask to be alone because he would assume things and get jealous.

She dragged her feet into the kitchen and wrapped up the prepared dinner with saran wrap. She then stuck them in the fridge, knowing that would be her lunch or dinner for tomorrow evening. After she got the kitchen cleaned up, she moved to the bathroom and began getting ready for bed, a sad feeling still lingering within her. She took a good look at herself in the mirror and didn't like what she saw. Her eyes had dark circles forming underneath them from her recent lack of sleep. She had had problems for the past couple of months with falling asleep at night and it scared her at times to think about it. She brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and removed her thin layer of makeup.

With fresh breath she moved to the bedroom and laid down on the bed, pulling the covers up to her chin and hoping that tonight would be the first night in a while that she would get it easy and fall asleep fast. She couldn't stand another restless night of tossing and turning while she thought about the "what ifs" of her life.

Sean was mad at himself for turning down a good opportunity. Not only would he have gotten a fully prepared meal but it would have been for free and he would have had the chance to catch up with Ellie and what had happened with her while he was in Wasaga. Then again, his bag kept reminding him of how much work he had left to do every time it dug into his shoulder. He walked to his the right and entered Jay's apartment, wondering why it was so silent inside. Jay wouldn't have left to the ravine this early and there wasn't really anywhere else for him to go.

Sean dropped his bag in a spot to the right of the door and kicked off his shoes. He inspected the apartment and saw nobody in the living room or kitchen. He walked down the hallway and slowly opened the door to Jay's bedroom. He was surprised to find Jay lying, fast asleep, under the covers, curled up like a little baby. Sean laughed to himself, wishing he had a camera to capture the softer side of Jay. But he knew none of his work would get done with Jay awake, so he softly backed out of the room and shut the door. He tiptoed back into the kitchen and spread his books out across the kitchen table, preparing for a long and hard work session.

Once he had finished his History and English pages, he began feeling hungry and decided to dig through the pantry. He was surprised to find so much food and took a good look around until he found a huge box of Easy Mac. He popped two packets out and poured them into a bowl, filling it with just enough water. He shoved the bowl into the microwave to start cooking and opened the fridge to find a drink. A coke would have to do, it was the only thing in there besides beer. It fizzed as he opened it and took a huge swig. He smiled at the little sizzle left in his mouth; that was always his favorite part about coke.

He walked back over to the table and realized that he was done with everything except a simple science short essay question. As he was finishing that, the microwave beeped signaling that the Easy Mac was ready. He finished the problem as best he could and packed his school stuff away, throwing his bag across the living room so it landed somewhere behind the couch. He laughed and opened the microwave, taking out the bowl of macaroni and setting it on the counter. He dug in a drawer for scissors and a spoon. The cheese began dissolving almost immediately when it hit the steaming noodles. Sean stirred it in until he couldn't see any powder left. He grabbed his coke and the bowl of Easy Mac and carefully juggled them into the living room. He grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV, browsing through a couple of stations before turning over to the movie channel. A few channels in he landed himself on a late night dirty film. He looked back towards Jay's bedroom, making sure that he wasn't standing there. Assured that he was alone, he looked back at the TV and watched the movie.

When he finished his helping of Mac and Cheese he set the empty bowl down on the table; it rang as it met the thick glass. The movie he had been watching was over so he turned off the TV, just then realizing that it was almost midnight. He got up off the couch and made his way down the hallway to his bedroom where he changed into his pajamas. As he was brushing his teeth, the door to his right opened and Jay came through it. He looked like he was having a seizure with his squinty eyes blinking furiously in reaction to the sudden impact of light. Sean laughed at him through the mirror.

"So have you been sleeping all day or did you get out of the house?" Sean said, nearly spitting a mouth full of toothpaste all over the bathroom countertop. He then continued brushing his back teeth and felt a twinge of pain as he scrubbed some of them. Maybe he needed to see a dentist, if only he had the money to do so.

"Shut up...I guess I was sleeping all day, I kind of lost track of time. Oh well, I owed myself a couple of hours anyways. So...did you talk to Emma?" Jay asked as he turned his back to Sean and began going to the restroom.

"Uh…" Sean mumbled as he watched Jay's back. He shook his head, wondering if Jay could ever have the politeness ask someone to leave the room instead of doing his business while they were in it. He tapped his toothbrush on the sink's edge, drying it off as much as he could. Jay finished and came up behind him, washing his hands just as Sean stepped back into his own bedroom. Jay was wiping his hands off on a towel as he followed Sean with a gaping expression on his face

"What the hell are you staring at?" Sean said as he jumped into his bed and wrapped the covers around him, adjusting himself to a comfortable position.

"Dude, come on. It's midnight, A.K.A. the time to go out and party in town. I know this sick place that has a lot of hot chicks, so get dressed and meet me in the living room in five." He laughed and walked into the hallway, making his way into the kitchen so he could turn on the coffee pot. He rubbed his eyes as he got out the proper things to make a good cup of coffee. By the time the coffee was ready and he had poured himself a cup, Sean was just entering the living room in a fancy collared shirt and looking ready to go. He smiled and took a small sip of coffee, cautious not to burn his tongue off before they left.

"So are you going to take a shower before we leave?" Sean asked Jay, knowing what the answer was probably going to be. Jay wasn't exactly known for his cleanliness and his idea of getting ready to go out was running a comb through his hair and maybe dabbing it with a little water. Jay looked at Sean with a wide grin on his face.

"Man, you know I only take showers in the morning. Except for special occasions but I can't really talk about those." He laughed and walked into his bedroom, appearing five minutes later with wet, combed hair and an aroma of high-priced cologne. Sean laughed at him and slipped on his shoes, coughing at the thick scent of Jay's and his cologne mixing together. He opened the door and walked down the stairs, waiting for Jay at the bottom. He looked around at the empty sidewalks winding through the complex and wondered if anyone else he knew was out this late and whether he would run into them. Jay came down and they walked to Sean's truck which was conveniently parked right along their path. Sean got in on the driver's side and started the car as Jay jumped in on the passenger side.

They were off in a hurry and Jay was giving Sean rather bossy instructions on how to get to their destination. After what seemed like a half an hour, they finally pulled onto a street, almost missing it because Jay was horrible at directing people. As Sean drove down the street he took notice of all the neon signs and posters showing questionable material. Jay pointed to a specific building and Sean parked in the nearest spot he could find. The Catscratch Club. It was a strange name for a place but Jay had suggested it and he didn't want to disappoint his friend. They got out of the car and walked to the door. The doorman greeted Jay with a friendly smile and hand shake; it was obvious that Jay was a regular. After a few seconds of catching up, Jay waved for Sean to follow him inside.

Once inside, Sean was greeted by a woman dressed as a French maid with a skirt that was way too short and a top that was small enough to pass off as lingerie; she offered him a drink with a lap dance. He smiled at her but declined the offer politely and kept walking around the club, eager to see what other options were available. Jay grabbed two seats near the front of the stage that two guys had just given up and they sat down, waiting for the next act to come onto the stage.

"So what do you think? I found this place not too long ago and I've been coming here ever since. The girls they have are straight up 10's, no doubt," Jay said to Sean as he checked out a young blonde waitress dressed in short shorts, a thin white tee shirt, and wore a patch over one eye to appear as a pirate.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice. And the girls…" Sean began to say but was interrupted when the announcer buzzed onto the overhead speakers. Sean thought it was a little cheesy and played up but he didn't go to strip clubs often so he relaxed and decided to enjoy it.

"You just saw an amazing routine from Bree, one of our leading female dancers. And now, for your pleasure, we hope you all enjoy the exotic dancing of Manuella." He stretched out the last letter of her name as he faded off of the speaker. Sean looked up at the name, recognizing it immediately. There was a very small chance that the Manuella that would be dancing on stage was the Manny that he had just finished making out with in front of Emma's house, but he couldn't help but wonder if he was about to get another unpleasant surprise.

As though out of nowhere, a small figure came walking slowly out of a thick cloud of smoke and turned just before her face could be seen. Her tiny pink bikini top looked as if it was about to snap off and she wore an uncomfortable looking thong on her bottom half. Slowly, she turned around, her bikini top straps falling off her shoulder to taunt the audience before she took her top off completely. She swung her hair around and finally flipped it back, stepping forward and throwing her top to the ground as she ran her hands through her hair.

Sean looked at her body before he could look anywhere else, it captivated him. He slowly panned his view up to her face which was heavily smothered in makeup. He could just make out a young girl underneath the sparkling blush and found himself in shocked disbelief. It was in fact the Manny that he had come to like, the Manny he had enjoyed being around so much that afternoon. How could a day going so well turn out to be so bad.

He stood up abruptly and walked to the very edge of the stage. Manny immediately took notice of him and after a few seconds recognized who he was. She stopped dancing and stared into his eyes, almost wanting to cry on the spot and glad that she was hanging on to a pole for support. People began complaining and Jay grabbed Sean's arm, pulling him back into the seat. Sean sat down for a second, trying to grasp what was happening. Manny knew she couldn't blow a performance or it would mean no pay, so she began dancing again.

Seeing that Manny wasn't going to stop, he got up again, this time turning around and walking directly towards the door. Jay was too mesmerized by her body to follow. When Sean reached the door, he took one last look back in time to see Manny preparing to take off her thong. He turned in disgust and slammed his way out the exit door, causing the security guard outside to threaten him. He didn't care at that point; all he wanted to do was get back to the apartment and die. He got into his truck and sped off, not bothering to think of Jay and how he would get back.


	12. Afterwards

**Chapter 12- Afterwards**

Manny sat backstage replaying what had just happened again and again in her head. She had just gotten a huge tip count and yet she couldn't care less about money at the moment. Sean had just seen her taking off every piece of clothing and dancing for complete strangers just to earn some quick cash. It had to be one of the worst nights of her life, and she wondered how a day that was going so well for her had turned into a nightmare from hell.

She didn't have the heart or energy to go back out for an encore performance so she packed up her things and walked out the door into the dark alley. The security guard nodded to her as she passed and closed the door behind her. She looked around and found herself engulfed in a black abyss. The overhead streetlamps were flickering out and she could hardly see anything. A noise came from her left and she jumped a little bit, wondering what it could be. She couldn't see anything and decided to just try and get back to Emma's house as fast as she could.

She quickly found the street where she was bathed in a yellow downpour of light and felt a little better as now she could see her surroundings. She walked along the sidewalk and began thinking over her life; it made her feel like a worthless tramp. She was standing there at midnight in a skimpy outfit and walking along the corner of a street crawling with strip clubs and bars. She passed by a store window and her reflection caught her eye. It ashamed her to see what she was becoming in order to get money.

She reached the house in a pretty short amount of time and was surprised to see a small light gleaming from a curtain less window. She wondered who could possibly up at this hour and whether they knew she was missing. She walked around to the back of the house as quietly as she could and slid down the little shoot that led into the basement, landing gracefully on her back and flipping over to kick the washer with her foot on accident.

She stood up carefully and inspected the room, taking notice of the missing bump in the covers on the bed. She sighed and moved swiftly into the closet, changing into some pajamas as quickly as she could. She then went into the bathroom to remove her thick layer of makeup and brush her teeth again, even though she hadn't eaten or drank anything since she last brushed them. When she was done, she walked back into the main area of the basement and messed up her hair to make it appear as though she had been lying down.

She ascended the stairs, making sure to avoid the creaking spots. She made it to the top and slowly cracked the door open. The kitchen was pitch black except for a small light shining dimly from the hallway leading into the living room. Manny tiptoed through the kitchen, trying to catch a glimpse of who was on the couch. When she reached the living room she was surprised to find Snake sprawled across the couch, a book lying open across his chest and a blanket barely resting on him. She smiled and moved to the table, switching off the lamp so he wouldn't wake up.

This left Manny with a burning question. Where was Emma? She thought back to that day and though how depressed Emma had been after she had shunned her. She felt her nose, which was still tender from the volleyball incident. The only possible explanation to Emma's absence was that she had run away for a few hours to get out and relax. She didn't blame her; she was so tense lately that she wished she could do the same. And yet she found herself still worrying whether or not she was alright.

She sighed and walked back down to the basement where she laid down in the bed and wrapped herself with the covers. She tried to fall asleep but too many things were nagging at her and she couldn't help but lie awake, dreaming up ridiculous things in her head. She thought about Sean and how horrible and awkward things would be with him tomorrow. She thought about Emma and whether or not she was ok wherever she was. She thought about her job and how it was ruining her life but saving it at the same time. She was stuck at a huge intersection and had no idea which road to turn down. Eventually she found herself drifting off to sleep as she dreamed of a life where she didn't have to worry about what people thought of her.

A few minutes after Manny dozed off into a dreamy sleep someone came sliding down the metal shoot. Emma landed on her feet and looked carefully around to make sure nobody around to see her get in so late. She could just make out the figure of Manny lying in bed and assumed she was sleeping considering the fact that she wasn't moving. She smiled and walked into the closet, changing into her pajamas so that nobody would suspect she had been out all night. She then proceeded to brush her teeth to get rid of the scent that her mouth was emitting with every breath.

After she brushed her teeth she walked over to the bed and stood there for a few minutes, watching Manny sleep and wondering if Manny would ever really have a secret relationship with Sean. She doubted it because Manny was always such a good friend to Emma and the last thing she would be interested in doing would be hooking up with Sean. Besides, Emma had helped her through some really tough times and that built more than just strength; they were bonded together like sisters. Emma laid down next to Manny and smiled, quickly falling asleep with a new reassurance that everything was going to be ok.

---

Sean got back to the apartment and slammed into the couch, quickly getting up and pacing around the living room. He couldn't cool himself down and his thoughts were pushing him to get a headache. He stormed into the restroom and turned the bath on, letting the steaming water fill up. He quickly stripped his clothes off and grabbed a towel from the linen closet. He didn't bother locking the doors; he knew Jay wouldn't be home for hours as he was probably at the ravine right now, hooking up with some random girl for a blow job or sex. That seemed to be all his life consisted of, sleeping during the day and going to the ravine to hook up at night. Sean stepped into the bath and jumped back slightly in reaction to the water. He stepped both feet in and slowly lowered himself into the boiling water, pausing at intervals to let each part of his skin adjust to the temperature. He finally laid his full body across the bathtub, laying his head on a built-in cushion.

For some reason he felt the sudden urge to revisit memories from his time at Degrassi and realized how different things had been then, before he had left. Emma was a cause girl and he had broken her heart for no reason at all, just to appear like a bad ass in front of Jay and his gang. He regretted that for a while afterwards and constantly questioned himself to tears, even though he never let his emotions show around other people.

He remembered his days at the Ravine, where he and Jay would go to hook up almost every night. One time Jay had gotten this really drunk girl to go in the van with him and, although Sean didn't remember everything that had happened, he did remember that Jay had come out of the van looking extremely satisfied. The girl, Celie he thought her name was, never came back to the Ravine. One session must have satisfied her enough for a lifetime.

The foot that was holding Sean up slipped and he fell underwater for a moment, coming back up immediately. He laughed and moved the wet hair out of his eyes, looking around the bathroom and wondering what kind of sick things Jay might have done in there. He was always dreaming up strange things to try out and it always ended up working out for him. He laughed at Jay, remembering how they had first met. They were in a fight and Sean was about to kick his ass when, luckily for Jay, Mr. Raditch broke it up and sent them both to his office. They started talking and somehow bonded to where they began hanging out after that. Part of the reason they got together as friends was because of Emma. Sean had wanted so badly to ignore Emma and show her that he didn't care so he blew her off and went to hang out with Jay. He remembered the stuff they used to steal and was ashamed at how juvenile they had acted.

His thoughts shifted to his first day back at Degrassi. It was only two days ago but it seemed like much longer to him. He had walked in at the end of sixth period and Emma had acted like he wasn't even there, as if she had not even notice him. He had wondered what was up with her and even though he knew now, he wished he could have found out in a way that didn't result in them fighting. He slid down further into the water where his chin was just above the surface. He sighed and let the heat sink into his body, burning away the trouble and stress built up inside of him.

He thought back to the date he had just had with Manny. They both had so much fun and really got to know each other well. The kiss at the end was one of the best Sean had ever been given and he hoped that she had felt the same way. He wanted to feel her lips again; he wanted to taste that moment over and over. He slid down further into the water, his bottom lip now penetrating the surface.

His eyes were closed now and he was beginning to daze off. His thoughts turned over to what had just happened. He had gone to a place with Jay in hopes of having a good time and instead things were ruined when Manny appeared on stage and stripped down to nothing. Men who were older than Sean's dad were gawking at her and whistling. It was the sickest and saddest thing he had ever experienced. It made him completely change his view of Manny but he still believed that she was truly a good person. She had to have a good reason for going there and doing that.

Sean thought about why he was so angry at Emma, he really didn't understand what made him react this way. She had her own choice and freedom to do whatever she wanted and he had made it clear that he no longer wanted to be attached to her or even talk to her last time they had spoken. So why did he care so much that she had hooked up with Jay and insulted herself? Why was he so quick to jump down her throat and scold her for doing something wrong after he left? Maybe this was the real Emma Nelson, he had just never gotten to know her well enough. He didn't want to think that was really her but the truth was that it was just as possible as anything else. All he knew was that she wasn't the same girl he had said goodbye to in Wasaga. She was another person and she had grown up.

His thoughts took control of his head and he didn't even hear the faint sound of the front door shutting or the TV being turned on. He let himself slide a little farther down, his lips completely concealed under the water. He was so tired and could barely keep his head up but was too comfortable to get out of the tub. Before he knew it, he had dozed off and let his head slide completely under water. He couldn't hear the sound of a door opening in Jay's bedroom as Jay entered it and started emptying his pockets onto a dresser.

Jay stared at the top of the dresser where a wallet and a few bracelets were set in an untidy pile. He felt so poor sometimes because he didn't have any true friends. He just had whores and drug dealers who thought he was cool and were willing to hang out with him at the ravine. He had almost lost Sean, who surprisingly was still there for him even though he didn't deserve it.

He walked into the hallway and to over to Sean's room, knocking on the closed door. There was no answer so he quietly eased the door open to see an empty bed and Sean's clothes piled outside of the bathroom door. He laughed and walked to the bathroom door, knocking on it to make sure Sean was decent. When there was no answer he started to get a little worried, wondering what he could have possibly done to make Sean pissed off at him again.

"Hey Sean...you ok in there man? Can I come in?" There was no answer. Jay slowly cracked the door open and, seeing nobody, moved into the middle of the bathroom. He turned to see Sean lying in the bathtub, his head underwater and his eyes closed. Jay panicked and froze. Nothing crossed through his mind as he stood there and watched his best friend drown. He couldn't react, he couldn't move his legs. Sean wasn't moving and his face looked emotionless and pale. Jay finally mustered some motion in his legs and rushed to the edge of the bathtub. He knelt down on his knees, pulling Sean's head out of the water as fast as he could.

A wave of water ran over the edge of the bathtub as Jay pulled Sean's lifeless body out and laid it on the cold tiled floor. Jay shook him furiously, hoping he would wake up. There was no response from Sean who wasn't breathing as far as Jay could see. Jay began pumping Sean's chest with his palms, hoping to get some oxygen flowing through his body. There were no signs of Sean waking up, his eyes remained closed and his body moved only when Jay pushed down on his chest. Jay really began panicking now, knowing he didn't have much time left before Sean was gone for good. He only knew of one thing that was left for him to do, so with one sweep of his head Jay laid his lips on Sean's. He held Sean's nose closed and blew into his mouth, not really knowing what to do next. He brought his head up and checked if he was breathing yet.

After a couple of times of repeating this he leaned back against the wall, completely out of breath and hope. He thought about all the good times he had with Sean and everything they would never be able to do together. When it reached the point where Jay was on the verge of tears, he heard a choking sound in front of him. He moved his hands off of his face to see Sean coughing up water and sitting up, leaning on his arm for support. Sean's eyes were red and his face was nearly white. Jay smiled and moved over to Sean's side, patting him on the back. 

"Buddy...you scared the shit out of me there. I thought you had...died. What the hell were you doing in the bathtub asleep anyways?" Jay asked, relieved but nervous all the same. He thought it was a little suspicious that Sean was alone in the bathtub and under water. It was almost like he was attempting suicide, which Jay could not even begin to think of a reason for. Sean had a pretty good life and screwing it up like that would not have made things any easier on anyone.

"What...happened?" Sean asked, using the edge of the bathtub to lean on as he slowly stood up. He stared from the tub to Jay and realized that Jay had just saved his life. He smiled at Jay and was happy to know that he could trust Jay to have his back in such a rushed situation. He then looked down and realized that he was standing naked and Jay could see everything. He quickly grabbed his towel from the table next to the bathtub and wrapped it around his lower half.

"Give me a second to get dressed; I'm sure you'd prefer me dressed over naked." He laughed as he walked into his bedroom and pulled on a shirt and some pajama bottoms. Once he was fully clothed he walked back into the bathroom to find Jay wiping up the water with a towel.

"Here man, let me get that, it's my mess anyways. I never thought I could be stupid enough to fall asleep in a bathtub. I guess I was just really tired and didn't even think before I dozed off." Sean laughed and grabbed the towel from Jay, wiping up the rest of the water himself.

While Sean did this, Jay moved into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He grabbed a beer and cracked it open, taking a long sip of it. He had just had one of the most horrifying experiences of his life and he knew now what it would be like when he lost someone close to him. He didn't ever want to feel that feeling again, and decided that he needed to change himself and be a little more careful about the things he said and did and the people he hung out with. He would start by going out the next day to find a job or somewhere to be during the day rather than sleeping or being a lazy bum with no life. But tonight he needed to just rest and relax. He laid down on the couch, stretching out across it and turned on the TV. He flipped through the channels until he found a good movie to watch. He decided to wait for Sean and in hopes that they could watch something together, seeing as he didn't plan on going to bed now and Sean was probably too shaken up to.

When Sean finally came out the movie Jay was watching had ended and Jay was wide awake thinking about the changes he would make to himself. Sean was surprised to see such a serious look on his face. He had always known Jay as the fun idiot who didn't care about anybody or anything. He looked like he was actually thinking hard about something. Sean sat down in the lounge chair and grabbed the remote off of Jay's stomach where it sat nicely on a forming beer belly. He laughed and flipped through the channels until he found another dirty movie on. He needed to watch something entertaining after what had just happened. He turned it to a decent volume and set down the remote.

"Dude, I thought you were anti-porn. The last time we watched this stuff you got touchy about it and left the room." Jay laughed as his eyes returned back to the screen and lit up as the movie progressed. He had lost the interest to know why Sean wasn't against it anymore, he couldn't care less. He just laid back in a comfortable position and watched the movie. Near the end of the movie he looked over at Sean who was fast asleep in his chair. He grabbed the remote off the table and turned the TV off. He then laid back down and threw a blanket over himself, turning over and falling asleep almost instantly.


	13. Serenity

**Chapter 13- Serenity**

Sean woke up the next day a lot earlier than he normally did. He didn't know what time it was but he knew that it wasn't late because he couldn't see any light shining from the kitchen windows. He sighed and looked at the clock on the wall. 5:32. He had slept about two or three hours and was so tired he felt like just turning back around and sleeping some more. But he had to go to school so he got up and turned the coffee machine on. He grabbed himself a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and sat down at the table to eat it. He was done with breakfast within five minutes. He took a shower, avoiding the bath completely, and got dressed in a button up collared shirt and a really nice pair of blue jeans.

He grabbed a to-go cup and poured himself a cup of coffee. Quietly he walked past the couch and to the door where he put on his shoes, grabbed his bag, and walked out of it, letting it close behind him. As he walked down the stairs he was careful not to spill his coffee before he got to his truck. He walked down the sidewalk to his truck and opened the door, setting his coffee in the cup holder and throwing his backpack in the backseat. He hopped in and started the car, pulling out of the driveway with a hopeful tone in the air. He even turned on some music and sang along happily as he drank his coffee and yelled at idiots on the road.

When he arrived it was ten past seven because he had to stop for gas on his way there. He parked his car in a spot near the back seeing as the other spots had already been taken. If he didn't hurry he wouldn't have time to go to his locker before first period. He sucked down the rest of his coffee and grabbed his bag out of the back, sliding out of the driver's seat and onto the pavement. He slammed the door shut behind him and walked in a fast pace towards the front of the school.

There was hardly anyone in the parking lot and he noticed that the only ones left were the school rebels who thought they were too cool to go to class. He laughed and remembered sitting outside of the school before first period waiting for the bell to ring so he could go into the building and be counted tardy. He was such a loser then even though he and everyone else thought he was cool.

He walked through the front doors and noticed that it was already seven fifteen, meaning he had five minutes to get to his locker and get to class. That was plenty of time so he slowed down his pace a bit as he turned down the hallway that led to his locker. He opened it up and unpacked his things into it. He hung his bag on a hook to the right and grabbed his binder for M.I. Lab. He shut the locker and turned to see Manny across the hall from him. She looked really tired and worn out, he assumed it was because of what she was doing the night before. She saw him and gave a cautious smile and began walking towards him.

"Hey Sean...look about last night...I'm really sorry you had to see me like that. I know you probably think something horrible of me now but I need the money really badly and it's the only thing I can do. Please understand because...because I really like you and I don't want things to change between us," she said, her smile turning into a frown and her voice becoming a little shaky. She looked around the hallway at people passing by so she wouldn't have to stare Sean in the eyes. She knew what he was probably thinking and hated herself for letting him believe that that's who she really was.

"Look Manny, it's your personal business and I'm not holding anything against you. I can't say that things won't be different between us because I'd be lying." He watched as her face went from sad but hopeful to sad and defeated. She held her head down a little bit as she turned away from him. She could feel her eyes stinging up with tears for what seemed like the billionth time in the past two days. She was tired of screwing her life up. She always seemed to do it so perfectly though and it always seemed to happen.

"Manny...I didn't mean that as in I don't want to be your friend. I meant that as in...I'm willing to work around it if you can try and help me understand. I had a really fun time with you yesterday at The Dot and I don't want to let all of that go just because I saw you... If you are willing to work with me, I'm willing to work past it." Sean smiled at her as she turned around and a grin formed on her face. He was happy that they could work things out and he was surprised by how he managed to remain calm throughout their entire conversation. Without thinking, Manny leaned in and hugged him, pulling back to look into his face. She was beaming with happiness that for once someone was willing to stay and deal with her problems, rather than running away from them like she wished she could.

"I'm so willing to. Maybe we could meet at The Dot again today? I'm sure you'll need help with today's math as well and seeing as I am the smart and beautiful Manny Santos, I'd love to help you out." She giggled and they started planning the study date right in front of Sean's locker.

In all the people passing, only one of them noticed the two looking peculiarly happy and close. Emma Nelson stood there watching as they laughed and played around with each other, hardly believing her eyes. But after a few moments of staring at them, she realized that she had nothing left with Sean. Their relationship was over and they were through. She had even gone back to the Ravine and hooked up with Jay again last night. If she really loved Sean she wouldn't have done that. She turned away from them and for the first time in a while, she smiled with no intention. It was sudden and random, but it filled her with happiness and she felt somewhat free. She walked away towards the media immersions room and made it in just as the bell rang. She sat down as far away from Manny and Sean as she could so they could have their privacy.

Manny noticed Emma looking at them every now and then from across the room but was thrown off by why she was smiling. When Mr. Simpson released them to mess around or finish their work, Manny walked over and sat down next to Emma who was busy with the homework Mr. S had just given out.

"Emma...I know you are probably angry with me but I can't help how I feel and I love you no matter what. I want you to know that, even if you do hate my guts." Manny sighed and got up to walk away. She was held back by Emma's outstretched hand.

"Manny...you're my best friend and I love you no matter what. If you and Sean end up happening, I'm fine with it. We were a thing in the past and I took it the wrong way when he came back and thought we might be something again. But me and him, we're over and it's not going to happen again. Besides, I have a good thing going with Peter and I don't want to mess that up. Just promise me we won't fight like this again, I hate it," Emma said and got up to hug Manny. They sat there for a few seconds in an embrace, both just happy to have made up. Emma pulled away and sat back down as Manny smiled at her one last time before she walked back over to Sean and sat down. Emma looked up from her work to see Manny telling everything to Sean. She smiled at them and went back to her homework, knowing everything was going to be ok.

"So how is Emma? Is she pissed off?" Sean asked Manny as she returned. Manny just smiled and kissed him on the lips. Sean pulled away with a happy but confused smile on his face.

"Everything's going to be fine," Manny said, grabbing his hand to assure him that she was serious. He smiled at her and started on his homework. This time it was Manny who didn't understand it and he was happy to explain it to her.


End file.
